Mary-Elaine Tynan stressed out when she discovered she was pregnant with her second child: the first labour had been difficult, leaving her exhausted for weeks afterwards.

Trawling the Internet, Mary-Elaine read that some women consume their own placentas after giving birth. This is supposed to give you more energy, improve your milk supply and help ward off post-natal depression.

There's a company in Ireland that turns placentas into tablets and even smoothies.

This could be a solution to Mary-Elaine's problem but, is it dangerous and could she bear to try it?

Parentline is a National Helpline for women with Postnatal Depression. It is free and available to mothers Monday - Thursday 10am-9pm and Friday 10am-4pm. To contact Parentline, ring 1890927277 or 018733500

Read Mary-Elaine's article in The Sunday Independent

Narrated and produced by Mary Elaine Tynan.

Production Supervision by Ronan Kelly.

First broadcast June 14th 2014

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries.