Why Kim Kardashian is eating her placenta

And of course, being Kim, she even tweeted a picture of the pills to prove it…

It's not the first time Kim has eaten her placenta – she also did it after the birth of her first child North West. Speaking on her blog, she says the pills give her a "surge of energy" and make her feel "really healthy and good".

So she's harnessing the power of her afterbirth a second time with the hope to keep her hormones in check.

"So, I’m really not this holistic person or someone who would have ever considered eating my placenta," she says. "I heard so many stories when I was pregnant with North of moms who never ate their placenta with their first baby and then had postpartum depression, but then when they took the pills with their second baby, they did not suffer from depression!"

"I really didn’t want the baby blues and thought I can’t go wrong with taking a pill made of my own hormones made by me, for me.

"I started researching and read about so many moms who felt this same way and said the overall healing process was so much easier."

Kim's sister Kourtney Kardashian ate her placenta after she gave birth to her third son Reign last year.

And it's becoming a growing trend with more and more mums trying it.

Mad Men actress January Jones told Glamour magazine in 2013 that she felt the tablets helped her through the difficult first few months of her son Xander’s life, although she says the backlash was surprising.

"I should never have told anyone about that, it’s so f**king stupid so many people cared," she said. "But it’s not gross or witchcrafty. Nor am I putting it in a shake or eating it raw. It’s a very civilized thing that can help women with depression or fatigue. I was never depressed or sad or down after the baby was born, so I’d highly suggest it to any pregnant woman."

But does it really have any benefits? Commenting on a review into published research studies on placentophagy, Louise Silverton, Director for Midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, is sceptical.

"As this paper finds there is little or no evidence around women eating their placenta," she told the Independent. "Indeed as it suggests, there may be potential dangers in doing so, though again there is no evidence to support that either.

“As a result midwives will not advise women about eating their placenta because of this lack of evidence, and it must be the woman’s choice if she chooses to do so.

Women should be aware that like any foodstuff, placentas can go off, so care will be needed about how they are stored.

"If a woman is intending to do this they should discuss it with their midwife ahead of the birth so that arrangements can be made to ensure she gets her placenta."

Read more:

• Placenta pills: a funny fad or the healthiest tablet for new mums?
• Natasha Hamilton: 'I'll eat my placenta'
• Artist creates photo frames out of placentas - oh yes
• Clueless actress Alicia Silverstone reveals how she ate her placenta