placenta and baby position trouble

[concernedmomiya]

How is it possible the placenta can inter change its position with the baby? What are its cause and how can we prevent it?

[5Homebirths4Kate]

If you're referring to a low lying placenta (a placenta that is closer to the cervix) then this can be a problem when baby needs to move down the birth canal. When baby is ready to be born, if the placenta is covering all or part of the cervix you could experience severe bleeding, so women who have placenta previa often need a C-Section.

There are different degrees of placenta previa.

Marginal: The placenta is next to the cervix but does not cover the opening.
Partial: The placenta covers part of the cervical opening.
Complete: The placenta covers all of the cervical opening.

During pregnancy, it is very common for the placenta to be low in the womb, and as the uterus stretches, the placenta will move up towards the top of the uterus. It could start down low, but end up high. It's not that the placenta is actually moving, because it attaches to the uterus upon implantation. But because the uterus is so small in the early months, it can look low, and then look like it's migrating to another area simply because the uterus is stretching.

With my 5th baby, I had a low lying placenta. This was not diagnosed with ultrasound, but rather with my midwife's skilled hands and ears. She could find the placenta by listening for my heart beat on my belly.

This didn't create any concerns during my pregnancy, but it did create a little concern when I went into labour. I had more bleeding than normal. Normally I just had a little pink tinge on toilet paper when my cervix was dilating, but with the low lying placenta, I had some bleeding in early labour. My midwife never let on that she had any concern, but she did show up very quickly when I called her to let her know I was in labour (usually she would wait awhile, but not that time).

That was my fastest and best birth. It was a water birth at home. Really important to have a skilled midwife, nurse or doctor attending just in case you need their expertise

As for preventing it in the future - women who smoke or have children at an older age may have an increased risk, but in general, the best thing to do is to have good preconception care for the best chance of conceiving a healthy baby and having the easiest pregnancy and birth.

Here's an excellent article that tells you more about placenta previa.

Warm regards,

Kate

[concernedmomiya]

It is really a hard time right now. But thank you for informing me. I will keep that in mind and make sure that I take good care of my daughter and myself as well.

[5Homebirths4Kate]

Have they done an ultrasound, and if so, where did they tell you that the placenta is located? Is it completely covering the cervix? What exactly did they say?

Kate