Placenta Previa: Why Is It Dreaded During Pregnancy?
In normal pregnancies, the placenta moves away from the cervix. A low-lying placenta especially during the third trimester can indicate a serious medical situation.
Placenta is a protective sac-like structure that develops during pregnancy and provides the baby with food and oxygen. Throughout the course of pregnancy, the placenta keeps changing its position. In early phases of gestation, placenta is positioned in lower part of uterus, near the cervix which is the bottom-most part of the womb. However, as the baby grows bigger, in a normal pregnancy, this foetal structure moves away from the uterus, making space for the cervix to dilate. There is a rare complication associated with placenta where it fails to move upwards and might block the cervix, leading to a risky delivery. This has been called Placenta Previa.
The exact cause of the condition is not fully understood but if not diagnosed earlier, it can lead to severe bleeding during or after labour in case of natural delivery. However, the condition can be diagnosed earlier in routine scans.
When the placenta fails to move upwards
In normal pregnancies, the placenta moves away from the cervix. A low-lying placenta especially during the third trimester can indicate a serious medical situation. A placenta roughly two centimeters or lesser from the cervix is considered ‘low-lying’. In some cases, the placenta is close to the cervix but doesn’t cover any part of it and sometimes it might partially or fully cover the cervix, making the situation more complex. It can often happen when the child is in breech position (baby’s feet down towards the cervix). Prominent symptoms that an expecting parent can experience are premature uterine contractions and vaginal bleeding.
As per reports, some women might develop a scar tissue on the lining of uterus in a prior c-section. Going for a natural delivery in the next pregnancy can increase their risk for placenta previa. Fibroids, miscarriages, abnormally-shaped uterus and missed diagnosis of placenta previa can increase the risk. On diagnosis, your doctor is likely to prescribe you complete pelvic rest.
C-section is the only way out
In placenta previa, a natural delivery can lead to serious medical outcomes like severe bleeding or haemorrhaging that can threaten life of both mother and baby. If you have a low-lying placenta in your 20-week scan, your doctor might ask you for follow-up scans to see if the placenta has moved to its correct position or not. If the placenta is found near the cervix in 36-week of pregnancy, the doctor’s focus will be to prevent bleeding during delivery. You might be asked to limit travel and will be prescribed pelvic rest. You are likely to have a c-section during delivery to prevent bleeding. You might also be asked to stay in the hospital for longer time so that you can be monitored for bleeding and other complications. Also, you might have a higher risk of having premature labour which can pose complications for the baby.
Total Wellness is now just a click away.
Follow us on
window.addEventListener(‘load’, (event) => {
// $(document).ready(function(){
$(‘#commentbtn’).on(“click”,function(){
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
$(“.cmntbox”).toggle();
});
// });
});
