
Written by Editorial Team
The placenta develops in the uterus of an expectant woman during pregnancy. This sac-like organ supplies nourishment and oxygen to the developing fetus. Additionally, it removes debris from the baby’s circulation. Since the placenta is expelled from the body after the birth of the baby, it is often called “after birth.” However many women experience placental issues like placenta previa.
Pregnancy comes naturally to women and in most cases carries out smoothly for the duration of 9 months before delivering a healthy child.
However, few women might develop complications that might cause a few difficulties in them if left unnoticed. Placenta previa or low-lying placenta is one of them and you must be aware of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of the same if you are going to be a mother soon!
In This Article
Placenta is a structure, formed from the network of blood vessels inside the uterus of a pregnant woman, and is responsible for providing oxygen and nutrition to the baby. It gets connected to the umbilical cord of the fetus and attaches itself to the side or on the top of the uterus.
Placenta previa is a medical condition in which the placenta is attached low in the uterus and tends to cover the cervix, partially or even fully. This result is early dilation of the cervix and sometimes the placenta detaches itself from the uterus when the cervix begins to dilate during labor.
Though placenta previa is not very common among women, statistics reveal that around 0.5% of women undergo this complication which restricts their movements while they are pregnant. There are a few cases where placenta previa is considered to occur, which are:
However, depending on health conditions, a woman having no such conditions can also develop placenta previa during her pregnancy.
The low-lying placenta can be of three different kinds, which are as follows:
The exact cause of placenta previa is not known, however, there are some probable assumptions for the same, which are:
Slight to heavy bleeding during pregnancy is one of the most significant symptoms of placenta previa in pregnancy. The blood would be bright red in color and bleeding will not be continuous but occasional only which will continue for several weeks. There are several symptoms that a pregnant woman might notice in case she has a low-lying placenta. They are:
The exact position of the placenta is usually understood by the radiologist during the first-trimester screening of the fetus. If a woman is diagnosed with a low-lying placenta, she needs more care than a woman without it. The treatment varies from woman to woman depending on the type of placenta previa in the pregnant woman. The usual advice are:
So if a pregnant woman is diagnosed with placenta previa, there is nothing to worry about. After all, every child born is a miracle, and motherhood is bliss, one should enjoy every phase of it.
A larger risk of placenta praevia is posed to pregnant mothers who are expecting a male child.
Yes. The bleeding that occurs during labor due to placenta previa might be fatal. You’ll probably need to undergo a C-section to deliver your baby. Extra bleeding and the necessity for a blood transfusion are two potential complications of placenta previa.
Placenta previa is a condition in which the placenta implants below the cervix or very near to it, making a vaginal birth impossible for the mother.
The majority of placenta previa will resolve on its own. By 20 weeks, the placenta is normally positioned thanks to the uterus’s upward pull. It’s great to know that a high percentage of complete placenta previa and marginal placenta previa resolved on their own at a relatively early gestational age of 28.6 ±5.3 weeks.
Yes. Blood veins attaching the placenta to the uterus may rupture if you have placenta previa and your cervix starts to thin down (efface) and open up (dilate). This might put both you and your baby at risk due to excessive bleeding during labor.
Patients with stable (no bleeding or little hemorrhage) placenta previa should have a planned cesarean section between 36+1 and 37+6 weeks gestation.
With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.
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