Birth, attitudes and placentophagy: a thematic discourse analysis of discussions on UK parenting forums

Abstract

Background: The post-partum consumption of the placenta by the mother (placentophagy) has been practiced since the 1970s in the global North and is seemingly increasing in popularity. Maternal placentophagy is not known to have been practiced in any other time period or culture, despite being near-ubiquitous in other placental mammals. An in-depth qualitative exploration as to the reasons for the practice, its increasing popularity and how it is narratively incorporated into discourses surrounding "ideal" natural and medical births are given in this paper. Methods: 1752 posts from 956 users across 85 threads from the parenting forums Mumsnet and Netmums were identified for inclusion. A thematic discourse analysis was performed using NVivo. Results: Three main themes were identified: women recounted predominantly positive attitudes towards their own experiences of placentophagy, and they were respectful of others' views and experiences; some had negative views, particularly around the concept of disgust, but again, they were respectful of others' experiences. By far the most common method of consumption of the placenta was encapsulation. Conclusions: This paper identifies the motivation for placentophagy to almost universally be for medical benefits, most commonly the prevention or treatment of post-natal depression (PND). Whilst disgust is a common reaction, discussion of risks is rare, and positive experiences outweigh negative ones. The increasing popularity of the practice is ascribed in part to the comparative palatability of encapsulation and the use of the internet to share resources and remove barriers. Parenting forums are important spaces to negotiate normative birth practices, including placentophagy, and act to build communities of women who value personal experience over medical evidence and highly value personal choice and bodily autonomy. Placentophagy is discussed in terms of its relation to natural and medical births with arguments being made using both discourses for and against the practice. This paper argues that placentophagy is practiced as a resistance to medicalisation as an assertion of control by the mother, whilst simultaneously being a medicalised phenomenon itself.

Mapping precision public health definitions, terminology and applications: a scoping review protocol

“…A subset of 10% of documents will be selected using a random number generator in Microsoft Excel. To ensure reliability and accuracy of coding, two authors will code this subset, results will be compared and the coding frame finalised through discussion 39–44. A second subset of 10% of documents will then be extracted using the same method for inter-rater reliability testing, with coding again by two authors.…”

“…The analysis will draw on critical discourse analysis, particularly drawing on the works of Ruth Wodak, Michael Meyer, Norman Fairclough, Siegfried Jäger and Teun van Dijk. [32][33][34][35][36][37][38] It will also be informed by thematic synthesis and thematic discourse analysis methods, drawing on the works of Harden, 39 Rozbroj et al 40 41 and Botelle et al 42 The analysis will contain both quantitative and interpretative stages. The first two stages of the analysis will be quantitative.…”

“…Articles will then be imported into NVivo and the data will be coded inductively using line-by-line coding, to enumerate occurrences of the phrase 'precision public health' and to collect and count secondary terms. [39][40][41][42] This stage of analysis will count the use of primary and secondary terms, including use of the terms and definitions, and analyse how dominant terms are in each article for example, if the article is about precision public health, or if it is mentioned as an aside.…”

“…To ensure reliability and accuracy of coding, two authors will code this subset, results will be compared and the coding frame finalised through discussion. [39][40][41][42][43][44] A second subset of 10% of documents will then be extracted using the same method for inter-rater reliability testing, with coding again by two authors. Interrater reliability will be tested using the kappa statistic, or k Fleiss statistic.…”

What Will It Mean for Me? Perceptions of the ECFMG 2023 Accreditation Requirement from an Online Forum

“…15 Studies within health care have examined the views and experiences of a wide range of groups through analyzing online forum posts, including stroke, 16 asthma, 17 dementia 18 and placentophagy. 19 A recent analysis demonstrated that between 2007 and 2016, ECFMG certified individuals from 1,834 medical schools across 157 countries. 20 An online forum therefore captures a sample of views that wouldn't be feasible through direct methods at school or country level.…”