Katherine Ryan reveals she harvested her stem cells from her placenta
Katherine Ryan harvested her stem cells from her placenta in case any of her three children suffered from "any type of disease".
Katherine Ryan harvested her stem cells from her placenta.
The 42-year-old comedienne - who has a 15-year-old daughter called Violet from a previous relationship, as well as a three-year-old son named Fred, and a two-year-old baby girl called Fenna, with her 41-year-old husband Bobby Kootstra - wanted to bank the stem cells to help treat "any type of disease" her children may have.
Katherine told couple Jamie Laing, 36, and Sophie Habboo, 30 - who are expecting their first baby - on the latest episode of their NearlyParents podcast: "I did ingest my placenta. Though not like raw.
"I know a spectrum of different women who've kept it in the freezer, have made smoothies, who've fried it, who've planted it.
"I sent it away to a company, along with core blood, to a different company to harvest stem cells."
After Jamie and Sophie - who said she wants four children like Katherine - expressed their surprise and amazement about the comic harvesting her stem cells from her placenta, she explained the procedure.
The star - who announced in June she is expecting her fourth child - continued: "So a phlebotomist comes when you're in labour and waits, and then instantly takes some blood from the cord, and then you bank your baby's stem cells for life.
"And then that, theoretically, could help if they should suffer from any type of disease."
Sophie said to Jamie: "We have to do that."
Katherine then quipped: "I mean, I do it to inject them into my face, but it could also save a baby's life, if that's important to you."
Elsewhere in the podcast, Katherine - who is from Canada - lost confidence when she first had Violet aged 25.
The 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown star - who raised Violet alone - explained: "I liked having one. And I was quite young and quite poor, and in a foreign country, so none of that was great.
"But I look back on those times really fondly."
After Jamie quizzed Katherine about whether she felt "anxious at any point" with her pregnancy with Violet, Katherine admitted: "Yes, I was in my mid-20s. I was anxious, not until she arrived.
"I had so much confidence. And then she arrived, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' And then my relationship was not good. Like things were bad.
"The environment that I chose to have a baby in was obviously wrong. You guys are financially solvent, and you're married, and you're in love, and you have family, and you have lots of support.
"I think you're in a great place, and I think that you will have four."
