I suppose if we were in a survival situation, eating the placenta might make sense. However, food is in abundance... Eating the placenta raw and right away seems to be the only reasonable strategy. No doubt our long-time ancestors probably did eat the placenta, but it's very unlikely that any significant portion of them dried it out and consumed it over the course of several weeks. -That is, the argument that it's natural and good for you needs to match up with an evolutionary basis. I can't see one for encapsulation. Also, saying 'nutrients and hormones' doesn't go very far, especially when the benefits are so difficult to measure (depression, lack of energy, etc.), and probably could be equally treated with the placebo effect. My wife is pregnant. I think I will fix some healthy meals after delivery. The effort to prepare the placenta, and the psychological struggle that it would require, isn't worth it, IMHO.