Where is my placenta and does it move during pregnancy?
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Kaely Harrod 0:01
Hello and welcome to Kaely Daily Today's question is: Where is my placenta and will it move during pregnancy? This is Kaely daily, the bi weekly podcast about all things Doula Tips and Tits where we answer one question about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, or lactation, in order to have your journey in this parenting world be just a little bit more informed and filled with consent. Welcome back. I'm Kaely Harrod, the host of Kaely Daily Doula Tips and Tits. And today we're continuing on our theme of the placenta. So I have two questions today. One is where is my placenta located? And the second is, will my placenta move. So the placenta itself is stationary in the uterus. However, one analogy I like to use is, if you had a balloon that was just a little bit aired up, like, let's say it was the size of your fist, and then you marked an X on it anywhere, right? And then you blew it up more than where that x is on the balloon is going to move, right? So that is similar to the placenta, it implants somewhere in the uterine wall. And then as the uterus gets larger as the fetus grows, and your pregnancy progresses, then where it's located in the uterus shifts, because that part of the uterus actually moves right, it actually like grows, like gets changed his position because it fills up. So lots of placentas are at the top and the back of the uterus. But there are placentas that are low lying, there's placenta previa, where the placenta is covering the cervix opening itself. There's an anterior placenta where the where the placenta is in the front of the uterus, kind of like behind your belly button, for instance. And so placenta placement can be all over the uterus. Now. Usually, placenta placement is not a complication for vaginal delivery. However, in the case of placenta previa, then the placenta has to be enough away from the cervix, that the cervix can fully dilate, allowing the baby to come through and be born right. So complete previa is when a placenta is completely covering the cervix. Partial previa is where part of the cervix is covered. And a low lying placenta is a placenta that's near the cervix, but not covering the cervix. So one of the things that they do in a situation of partial or near, like low lying placenta, is measure the distance from the edge of the cervix to the placenta. And there's a threshold that that has to get to. And if it gets far enough from the cervix, then the cervix is able to fully dilate, and birth is safe. The reason that it's not safe to have a labor with a placenta that's too near the cervix, is that in part, it can detach partially and cause bleeding, which is dangerous. And also because of course, the cervix cannot open underneath the placenta or if the placenta is there. And so that makes vaginal delivery, unsafe and also not possible. Now, does placenta location matter? I guess I'm adding some questions on to this placenta location, in general, doesn't matter too much aside from those, like low lying previa positions, however, in my experience, and anterior placenta, so a placenta that's in the front of the uterus, does create more issues in terms of baby positioning for some people, that is not always true. It's not like, you know, guarantee that you're going to have issues with positioning. But I see that like anterior placenta, sometimes create a baby that is in a posterior situation a bit posterior position, because there's just not the space that you would otherwise have in the front of the uterus. It of course, depends on where exactly it is. But But yeah, that's, that's my own anecdotal experience.
Kaely Harrod 4:51
So so we're gonna have a few more episodes on placentas. I want to remind you that I have a brand new free guide that It's all about the six oxytocin sources that can make your labor easier and faster and smoother and all those wonderful things. And the link to that is in the show notes or in the description of the video. If you're on YouTube. Remember that these episodes are both in podcast form and also on YouTube, so you can watch them as videos. If you're listening to them, you can listen to them if you're currently watching them. As always, these episodes are not intended to be medical advice. I am not your medical provider. And so their education and entertainment, and I do them in hopes of providing education and consent filled information so that you can have smoother pregnancy and postpartum experiences. Now, every episode, I answer a question, so I would love for you to send me a question that you'd like me to answer. The easiest way to do that is just to hop over to Instagram. My link is in the show notes. And you can send me a message there. I would also love a review a subscription and a rating on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts. Whichever place that you normally listen to this or if you're on YouTube, please like and subscribe that helps more people find this content and so then more people can be helped by the answers that are in these episodes. All right, I will see you soon for some more listen to information edited and produced by Kaely Herat as I'm sure you can probably tell, and our amazing music is credited in the shownotes as well. So we look forward to seeing you on the next episode. And in the meantime, have a wonderful and consent filled birth
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Placentas happen where the egg implants in the uterus. That can occur anywhere, but occasionally when the placenta is on or near the cervix and oftentime someone says “it may move”. The problem is that the placenta is not like a walking tree that climbs its way up the uterus. This episode dives into placenta placement and if/when it relocated and what that means since it can’t walk!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Placentas can be in all different parts of the uterus
A few placements can make vaginal delivery impossible or unsafe
Some placentas move up as pregnancy progresses, so a low lying placenta can rectify itself
RESOURCES
FREE OXYTOCIN GUIDE:
6 Ways to Increase Oxytocin for Labor Progression
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide-6-oxytocin-tips
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
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Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
