Simone Holtznagel reveals sad reason why she drank her own placenta in a smoothie after giving birth to daughter Gia with Jono Castano

By MIKAELA WILKES FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 08:08 BST, 30 April 2025 | Updated: 08:08 BST, 30 April 2025

Simone Holtznagel has revealed the reason why she drank her own placenta after giving birth to her daughter Gia, who is now one-year-old. 

The Australian top model, 31, told The Diary of a Birth podcast host Ksenija Lukich that she was ‘really scared’ she would suffer bad postnatal depression. 

Simone quietly split from Gia’s dad Jono Castano, 33, around nine weeks after they welcomed their baby on Easter Sunday in 2024. 

But in the tell-all interview, Simone hinted that the relationship was in trouble well before the birth. 

‘I’ve kind of blocked it out because it wasn’t the most stress free pregnancy,’ she said. 

‘I spent a lot of time by myself – which was nice rather than dealing with… other unexpected things. I just remember being so uncomfortable.’ 

Simone Holtznagel (pictured) has revealed the reason why she drank her own placenta after giving birth to her daughter Gia, who is now one-year-old

‘I drunk my placenta,’ Simone said. 

‘I did that because I was concerned about postnatal depression because I’d dealt with anxiety and depression years ago. 

‘I was really worried about that because of my at home life, relationship-wise,’ the model continued as she hinted at a separation from her personal trainer partner. 

‘This was very new for both of us and I was concerned about the level of support I’d get from my partner.’   

Some people believe that eating the placenta (placentophagy) can protect new mothers against postpartum depression, as well as ease bleeding after delivery and increase the quantity of breast milk production.

The theory is based on the idea that the placenta contains hormones and nutrients that can help women recover from childbirth.

There is limited scientific evidence to support these claims, but Simone figured, why not try? 

‘The woman doing it came in and picked up the placenta. It was on ice,’ she explained. 

Simone pictured with newborn baby Gia, who she welcomed on Easter Sunday in 2024

Simone told the Diary of a Birth podcast that she was ‘concerned’ about the level of support she would receive from her then-partner – and Gia’s father – Jono Castano if she wound up suffering from postpartum depression

‘She came back with a little protein shaker that had a little 3cm piece of my placenta in it with coconut water, frozen banana, and frozen berries.’

‘You have to sign a thing saying that no one else is allowed to have a sip because technically you’re eating an organ. Like a human organ,’ Simone continued, joking that ‘It’s literally the only legal form of cannibalism.’ 

‘I stopped bleeding after three or four days and apparently that’s unheard of,’ she added. 

Elsewhere in the podcast, the former Playboy cover girl said she learned she was pregnant on the way home from a celebratory 30th birthday trip to Maldives. 

Elsewhere in the podcast, the former Playboy cover girl said she learned she was pregnant on the way home from a celebratory 30th birthday trip to Maldives 

Jono CastanoSimone Holtznagel

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Simone Holtznagel reveals sad reason why she drank her own placenta in a smoothie after giving birth to daughter Gia with Jono Castano

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