The placenta covers the internal os - what to do? How to raise the placenta during pregnancy

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The period of pregnancy is associated with future mothers with great joy and great anxiety for the he alth of their crumbs. These feelings are quite natural and accompany a woman for all nine months. At the same time, even if there is no reason to worry, the pregnant woman will be worried and constantly listen to her feelings. And if doctors noticed some deviations from the norm during a routine examination, it is difficult for a woman to calm down. Expectant mothers are especially frightened by the words that the placenta blocks the internal os. Many immediately begin to draw scary pictures of what is happening to their baby in their imagination, thereby further aggravating their condition.

But in fact, most pregnant women face the fact that the placenta blocks the internal os. The modern level of medicine is such that even with such a pathology, absolutelyhe althy and strong kids. However, mom must clearly understand what this diagnosis means and how to behave correctly after identifying the problem.

The placenta and its impact on the development of the child

All nine months the mother's body provides the baby with all the necessary components for proper development. And all this happens at the expense of the placenta, which largely determines whether your baby will receive important vitamins and minerals, nutrition and oxygen, which is so important for tissues and the brain. The placenta does not form immediately in the uterus, but only towards the end of the first trimester. Previously, its role is played by the chorion - a fleecy membrane that separates the egg from the walls of the uterus. She finally matures by the twelfth day after conception. As you can see, nature very carefully made sure that the baby was constantly protected and received everything he needed.

For the normal development of the child, it is very important where exactly the placenta is attached. The chorion is usually located along the anterior wall of the uterus, posterior or near the bottom. Doctors consider the last option to be the most successful, since in this case all metabolic processes go as quickly as possible, and the baby will not experience problems getting oxygen or nutrition. However, sometimes the placenta covers the internal os completely or marginally. This is already considered a serious pathology and can cause premature birth or miscarriage. That is why doctors regularly monitor future mothers and monitor the position and maturity of the placenta by weeks. This procedure is done by means of an ultrasound.which is quite safe for the baby and his mother. You should not refuse these studies, especially if you are over thirty-five years old. For some reason, it is in women who already have children, at this age during pregnancy, the placenta covers the internal os.

Let's talk a little about anatomy

Women often underestimate this problem and even after the diagnosis is poorly understood what exactly is happening in their body. To clarify the situation, it is necessary to turn to anatomy.

The uterus is the organ in which the baby develops all nine months. It is connected with the vagina by the neck, which during pregnancy is tightly closed and stands out with a bluish color of the tissues. This is due to the fact that the neck becomes very dense, but at the same time elastic, because by the end of the term it will have to stretch to let the baby through. The outer and inner border of the neck is called the "pharynx". From the outside, it separates the uterus from the vagina and is tightly closed, and the internal pharynx of the cervix protects the baby from infections. At the right time, it stretches and allows the baby to take a place in the pelvis, which indicates an imminent birth.

For bearing a child, it is very important that the pharynx remains closed and does not overlap, as this threatens the baby with numerous problems. The minimal ones include bleeding and increased uterine tone. In especially severe cases, the child has hypoxia of varying degrees, and the mother has difficulties with labor, forcing doctors to resort to caesarean section.

Position of the placenta

Tracking the position and maturity of the placenta by weeks, doctors consider it very important in the process of monitoring the condition of a pregnant woman. After all, by the twelfth week it becomes possible to identify placental pathologies. Most often, women face the following two problems:

• precocious ripening;
• low position relative to the pharynx.

If we talk about the first pathology, it should be noted that it is extremely rare. It can be briefly described as aging of the placenta, which does not correspond to the gestational age. That is, the baby is not yet ready to be born, and the amount of nutrients required by him is gradually decreasing. In parallel, there are problems with the provision of oxygen. All this puts the life of the crumbs in danger and forces doctors to take emergency measures.

Low placentation occurs in women quite often, but this diagnosis raises a lot of questions in pregnant women. So, what does a low placenta and a normal position of the placenta mean? Let's talk about this in more detail.

If after fertilization there was a normal attachment of the chorion (along the front wall of the uterus, back or in the bottom), then the placenta will take the desired position within the normal range. But it should be borne in mind that in nine months, as the uterus stretches, it slightly changes its position. This process is monitored by doctors during scheduled ultrasound scans. For example, if in the second trimester the distance between the internal os and the placenta is about five centimeters, then these indicators are considered normal. Around the twentieth week, the distance changes, but it should not be less than seven centimeters.

In these cases, a woman may not worry about low placentation and calmly carry the baby. If she has no other problems, doctors will recommend natural childbirth with a high chance of a he althy baby.

Possible pathologies

If during an ultrasound examination the doctor noticed that the distance between the lower edge of the placenta and the internal os is less than the above figures, then we can talk about low placentation due to chorion previa. At 12 weeks, this can be noticed for the first time, then the woman will be closely monitored in order to note all possible changes in time. But in any case, we are talking about pathology.

However, I would like to note that, regardless of the stage of presentation, a woman has every chance to endure and give birth to a baby. Naturally, if you follow all the recommendations of the doctor and monitor your condition. For example, bleeding is the most likely symptom of problems caused by a low position of the placenta. Most often they occur without pain in the lower abdomen, so they do not always scare women. But any bleeding should be a reason to see a doctor, as it often indicates placental abruption, which can lead to the death of the fetus and mother.

Remember that you can talk about low chorion previa at week 12 if the distance between the placenta and the internal os is three centimeters or less. Such indicators are a cause for concern, and such an entry as “pathology” is entered in the pregnant woman’s card.

Previa stages

Don't panic if your doctor tells you you have a low placenta. Not all stages of pathology are critical. Some of them require only the supervision of a doctor, while others make you think about urgent surgical intervention. Therefore, the pregnant woman herself should also understand this issue.

Expectant mothers have three types of abnormalities in the location of the placenta:

• Previa. This stage is the most difficult, since the placenta completely covers the internal os. This pathology will not allow the baby to descend into the small pelvis and take the correct position before childbirth. Most often, the placenta on the front wall overlaps the internal pharynx, this, in addition to the already mentioned problem, can cause placental abruption. Since due to the stretching of the uterus, it will not be able to move and take the correct position. Often, the placenta on the back wall overlaps the internal os, which also refers to severe pathology and threatens with problems during childbirth.
• Incomplete or partial presentation. A similar situation occurs with the marginal presentation of the chorion, in the future, the placenta is formed at the same place and its edge partially overlaps the internal pharynx. If the doctor makes such a diagnosis on an ultrasound scan, then the woman has every chance of giving birth to a baby on her own. However, the situation must be monitored very carefully, since by the twentieth week the placenta maymove. As a result, the situation of the pregnant woman will improve or, conversely, worsen.
• Low placentality. If in the first days after conception, the chorion was fixed along the anterior wall of the uterus slightly lower than usual, then the placenta will form close to the internal pharynx. However, with such a diagnosis, it does not overlap with a child's place, which means that the baby has every chance of receiving the necessary nutrition and oxygen, and at the right time to be born naturally.

The stages of the pathologies listed by us, doctors can only notice on ultrasound. However, before the twentieth week, the placenta may change its position, and the diagnosis will be removed. However, in this case, the woman should also listen carefully to what is happening with the baby (20 weeks of pregnancy with low placentation is decisive) in order to see a doctor in time.

Causes of presentation

As soon as a pathology is detected in a woman in position, she begins to ask different questions. What does this mean for the baby? How to behave? At what time is a planned caesarean section done if a complete overlap of the internal os is noticed? And the main thing - what caused the pathology that arose? The last question worries expectant mothers the most, and we will try to answer it.

The main reason for low placentation, doctors consider he alth problems that a woman could well not know or simply ignore. It is they who provoke the marginal presentation of the chorion, and then the placenta. But in a he althy future mother, the risk of such a situation is minimal. The chorion usually attaches tothe anterior wall or posterior wall of the uterus, so in the future the distance between the edge of the placenta and the internal os will be within the normal range. During pregnancy, the doctor will monitor these indicators in order to notice problems in time. However, in most cases, if the placenta is higher than the internal os at the twelfth week, then in the control periods - twenty and thirty-two weeks - its location will be within the normal range.

But if a woman has he alth problems even before pregnancy, the fetal egg can attach quite low. Its location is affected by scars left after a caesarean section or abortion. Also, fibroids, adenomyosis formations and chronic inflammation of internal organs lead to a similar situation. According to doctors, any infection of the genital area can lead to pathology during pregnancy. The risk of such problems is high in cases where a woman has anatomical defects in the genital organs.

Consequences of low placentation and presentation

First of all, women should know that these problems cause fetal hypotrophy and hypoxia. This is due to malnutrition of the fetus and its supply of oxygen. In such situations, the baby signals the mother about trouble with too much activity, so if the baby suddenly began to beat in the stomach, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Low placentation can cause placental abruption. It is always accompanied by bleeding. Obstetricians distinguish partial and complete abruption of the placenta. Partialleads to profuse bleeding at the site of detachment. A pregnant woman may not even know about the problem, but gradually her condition will worsen. Naturally, the increase in hematoma also affects the condition of the baby.

Complete placental abruption is extremely dangerous. In this case, we are talking about saving the life of a little man and his mother. The problem is accompanied by severe bleeding and pain. When these symptoms appear, the count goes literally for minutes, you must immediately call an ambulance and voice your assumptions even during the call. This will facilitate the work of the arriving team of doctors, who will have prepared the necessary drugs to save the lives of mother and baby.

If the placenta overlaps the internal os, then the woman has a chance to give birth naturally. However, to all the above listed risks, one more is added - infection with infections. Since the microflora of the vagina is not sterile, the baby can also receive a share of microbes while still in the womb. From this it is protected by a tightly closed internal pharynx. But if part of the placenta enters it, then it is likely that the infections will easily sink into the child's place. This is very dangerous for the baby.

Chances to change the situation

Many women are interested in how to raise the placenta during pregnancy. There are stories of miracle cures and medicines that help the placenta move. However, doctors deny this rumor. They claim that so far no specialist knows how to raise the placenta. During pregnancy, a woman's body undergoes numerous changes, and many of themare not amenable to any explanation, therefore there are cases when doctors canceled the diagnosis of "previa". But it happens naturally. Under the influence of the stretching uterus, the process of "migration" is launched. The placenta gradually begins to shift and enters the normal range. This is done very slowly and does not cause any discomfort to the pregnant woman, only at the planned ultrasound she learns that the situation has stabilized. But once again, this process does not depend on drugs.

According to statistics, in ninety-five percent of women who have been diagnosed with a pathology, the placenta has risen by the thirty-second week. For the remaining number of future mothers, the situation is also not deplorable. In about fifty percent of them, the placenta moves in the right direction by the birth.

Monitoring a woman's condition

With low placentation, doctors may prescribe an additional ultrasound examination for a pregnant woman, but usually everything happens according to the established deadlines:

• Twelve weeks. At this time, there is a chance to notice the problem. If a woman follows the doctor's recommendations, she will not notice a deterioration in her condition. But the slightest deviation from them can cause bleeding. A pregnant woman with a low placentation is strictly forbidden to get up abruptly, lift weights, play sports and have sex. It is not recommended to worry about such a problem, as well as to show emotions violently. Even joyful events can provoke minor or profusebleeding.
• Twenty weeks. For some reason, the diagnosis may not change by the 20th week of pregnancy. What happens to the baby in this case? As the baby grows, the situation gets worse. In full presentation, there may be problems with oxygen supply and nutrition. Often a woman enters the hospital for preservation. In especially severe cases, she is left in the hospital until delivery. If a pregnant woman is diagnosed with only low placentation without overlapping the pharynx, then she may be advised to move less and monitor her condition.
• Thirty-two weeks. At this time, the situation, most likely, will not change, and doctors are thinking about how a woman will give birth. With a complete occlusion of the pharynx, we will talk about surgical intervention and the pregnant woman will be admitted to the hospital to prepare for the operation. When is a planned caesarean? If heavy bleeding does not occur, then presumably at the thirty-seventh week. In cases where two lives are at stake, doctors make an urgent decision and may perform the operation earlier.

Dangerous symptoms and behavior algorithm

So, we think you understand that the most important symptom that needs attention when the placenta is low is bleeding. They can be internal and external. The latter are immediately noticeable and a woman can appreciate their abundance or scarcity. Internal bleeding is not noticeable at first, but as the hematoma grows, the woman's he alth will deteriorate. Pregnant anywayshould consult a doctor, only he has the right to give recommendations and assess the patient's condition. Do not resist if he insists on hospitalization of the expectant mother.

With low placentation, a woman must observe a special daily regimen. The he alth, and even the life of the baby, depends on her scrupulousness. First of all, it is necessary to exclude any physical activity. A pregnant woman should not bend over, stand up and sit down abruptly, and even more so jump and run. Failure to follow these rules in most cases leads to placental abruption.

In order for the baby not to experience problems with oxygen, walks cannot be excluded from the daily routine. They should occur regularly, as this normalizes the emotional background of the pregnant woman. It is important that a woman sleeps well. Pregnancy itself is a serious burden for the body, and with low placentation, it increases significantly. Therefore, a good sleep will help to recover and gain strength.

It is equally important to keep a good mood and avoid stress. In the last stages, they can cause uterine hypertonicity, and this is fraught with bleeding. If they are repeated often, then a woman may experience anemia, problems with hair and nails will appear. All this will negatively affect the development of the fetus, which will also be deficient in iron.