Taking Care Of Placenta During Pregnancy

In the third stage of labor during pregnancy, the placenta tends to break away from the uterus lining. This usually occurs within half an hour after the baby is born. Roughly, about three percent of the women have their placenta attached. This condition is known as "retained placenta." To prevent infection and other pregnancy complications, the doctors need to remove the placenta it either manually by relaxing the mass or via surgery by scraping the lining. If the doctors fail to remove the placenta totally, there can be infection or hemorrhage even weeks after the pregnancy.

What You Should Know About Placenta And Pregnancy

If the placenta does not deliver naturally, it is because the cord has cut off during delivery. Another reason can be that it has developed some irregular linkage to the uterine lining. Any woman can have a retained placenta during pregnancy. However, women who have had previous surgeries like cesarean or a fibroid removal are more prone to this situation. In such a situation, the patient can be given an epidural that has been administered during pregnancy labor or a narcotic, like Demerol, or a spinal anesthetic can also be given. If the situation so happens that the fully dilated cervix begins to close, then the doctor might just decide to start extracting at once without waiting for pain medication. The other option is to allow the cervix to close and then perform a D and C under slight sedation.

The placenta requires to be attached to the higher portions of the uterus as it is much more muscular and thus is able to provide a strong support. The lower part of the uterus is usually thinner and softer and as a result is not able to endure the attachment of the placenta too well. During the concluding portion of pregnancy, the cervix starts thinning out in order to prepare for the birth of the child. Thus, certain portions of the placenta can part and cause bleeding. There are times when the placenta previa corrects itself before the child is born. It keeps moving upward as the pregnancy advances and the uterus starts stretching. In reality, the placenta does not actually move but as the uterus grows, it means that it is not as below as it was before.

If placenta previa fails to correct itself then there is no reason to panic, there are different ways to treat this situation. You must take ample bed rest and your baby needs to be monitored. If you are far away from your due date but you start bleeding heavily, then you need to admit yourself to a good hospital. A Complete Previa is said to happen when the placenta covers the cervix totally. This is a serious case and you might have to go for a cesarean section. In Marginal previa, the placenta broadens to the rim of the cervix but does not conceal it. Women having placenta previa have a greater risk of hemorrhaging either during pregnancy or later.