I just finished reading Mothers and
Others<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674032993/ref=s9_intb_gw_tr02?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=13KKZW2R77GW7AAD3FW3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846>,
the latest book by sociobiolist Sarah Hrdy.  It includes a pretty extensive
cross-species comparison of placentophagia.  This is from p. 216-17,
"Placentophagia on the part of new mothers occurs nearly universally among
carnivorous and herbivorous mammals with only a few exceptions, such as
camilids and marine mammals.  Across primates, however, the distribution of
placenta-eating is much more sporadic, especially in the Great Apes.  A new
mother chimpanzee or gorilla will sometimes consume the placenta right after
birth, even before she picks up the newborn lying beside her.   At other
times, the mother will ignore the afterbirth, perhaps leaving it behind in
the makeshift nest in which she delivered her baby, or seemingly oblivious
to it, dragging the placenta along behind her, still attached to the infant
by the umbilical cord. Nonhuman ape mothers lack the fixed action patterns
around time of birth seen in other animals like mice or dogs.  Responses are
even less automatic among humans.   There are virtually no traditional
societies in which mothers routinely eat the placenta. "

Hrdy also discusses how, in species where there is a lot of shared care of
young, including marmosets and some hamsters, fathers and other caregivers
may eat the placenta as well. "I still recall how stunned I was when the
primatologist Jeff French showed a video clip of birth among Brazilian
bare-eared marmosets (*Callithrix argentata*).  At first, I had trouble
comprehending the actions of the struggling bodies on the screen.   As the
first of two babies emerged from his mother's birth canal, a fierce
tug-of-was was going on between the mother and an adult male who was trying
to wrest control of the emerging baby.  Then, after the second baby, as the
placenta emerged, the male was vying with the mother for that as well, eager
to have the first bite." p. 216.

She also mentions that marmosets as well as human men who do more caregiving
have higher prolactin levels.

Sara Spalding
Indianapolis, Indiana

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome