Table 1 Examples of themes
Theme | Coding frequency | Example |
|---|---|---|
Positive attitudes and experiences | 661 | “I decided to do the placenta encapsulation as I suffered severe baby blues on the first 2... The difference seemed very noticeable, it really seemed to help me with all the the things I struggled with after the other two pregnancies“ |
Negative attitudes and experiences | 525 | “whats the views on placenta eating, be it frying it, turning it into pills or whatever, i personally dont think i could do it, the thought makes me want to heave, but each to their own. Thoughts?” |
Logistical discussions | 612 | “Anyone tried it? If so, did your midwife/doctor help you to collect/store it? How did you prepare it for eating? Did other people e.g. your DH [dear husband] eat it too?” |
Control and autonomy | 98 | “obviously some people have really strong views about this. .. at the end of the day,it is your choice, your placenta. .. don;t feel you shouldn;t do it because other people ridicule the idea” |
Placentophagy as natural | 103 | “our stomachs turn quite easily in the western worldi would imagine it wouldn’t freak a lot of people out that much as a natural ritual post birth” |
Placentophagy as medicine | 89 | “If you’re researching, go and look at actual peer reviewed studies please, not sales pitches you read online.” |