The degree of maturity of the placenta by week (table). Norms and deviations of the maturity of the placenta

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 22:35

The placenta is an important organ of a pregnant woman, which is formed and exists throughout the growth of the fetus. After the birth of a newborn, the child's place is rejected. This unique temporary organ connects mother and baby during pregnancy. It is thanks to the placenta that the baby receives the necessary nutrients.

Children's place, like any living organism, is formed, matures and ages. Each of these physiological processes must occur at its own time. In this case, the pregnancy will proceed successfully, and the child will be he althy. If the expectant mother wants to know what, for example, should be the degree of maturity of the placenta at 33 weeks of pregnancy, she should use a special table with standard indicators. Such a scheme will be given in the article below. Thanks to her, you can find out if the child's place is developing correctly.

When does the placenta form?

The word placenta in Latin means "cake". This organ was named so because of its disc-shaped, flattened shape.

About the tenth day after the conception of the cell, the destinationwhich is to ensure the connection between mother and fetus, begin to actively share. As a result, special enzymes are produced. Their task is to create favorable conditions in the uterine cavity for the subsequent possibility of saturating the child with nutrients from the mother's body. After that, a constant blood exchange is formed between the pregnant woman and the baby. The growth of the placenta becomes so active that the size of this organ in the initial stages even exceeds the size of the embryo.

Further there is a constant increase in mass and growth of the hairy tree of the children's place. The branching of blood vessels continues due to the division of each of their processes into several new ones. Such a temporary organ completes the growth process almost before the very birth. The correctness of the development of the child's place is characterized by such an indicator as the degree of maturity of the placenta by weeks. A table with the corresponding description of the characteristics will be presented below.

What is the placenta for?

The main task of the placenta is to ensure the life of the fetus throughout the entire period of pregnancy. The baby seat performs the following important functions:

• Provides immunological protection of the fetus, skipping the necessary antibodies of a pregnant woman to the baby, but at the same time retains certain cells of the mother's immune system that could trigger the mechanism of rejection of the embryo, mistaking it for a foreign object;
• removes toxins;
• protects baby from negative influencesenvironment, the harmful effects of bacteria and viruses;
• performs the functions of an endocrine gland, synthesizing certain hormones that are necessary for a successful pregnancy;
• supplies the fetus with oxygen and removes the resulting carbon dioxide;
• delivers nutrients to baby and helps get rid of waste products.

The condition of the placenta has an extremely important impact on the condition of the baby and on the process of pregnancy as a whole. To maintain the he alth of this organ, it is necessary to protect it from the harmful effects of a different nature. For example, it is recommended to avoid crowds of a large number of people, because even banal SARS or acute respiratory infections can be dangerous. The mother-to-be should not smoke. If a woman has sexually transmitted infections, they should be disposed of.

Normative placenta thickness

From the very beginning of pregnancy, the placenta actively grows and develops. By 16-18 weeks, this organ becomes fully functional. The thickness of the child's seat increases slightly from day to day. This indicator reaches its maximum by 34 weeks. If the pregnancy proceeds safely, then after another couple of weeks, the growth and increase in the thickness of the placenta stop, and sometimes even decline.

This indicator, which characterizes the state of the child's place, can only be determined by ultrasound diagnostics. The area with the greatest thickness should be measured.

If the thickness of the child's seat at a specific timepregnancy does not meet the normative indicators, which means that the functioning of this organ is impaired. In this case, the child may also suffer.

Another indicator by which you can assess the state of the child's place is the degree of maturity of the placenta by weeks. A table with standard values will help to correctly assess the situation. And now we will consider cases when the thickness of the child seat differs from the standard one.

If the placenta is thicker than normal

The cause of excessive thickening of the placenta in a pregnant woman may be anemia, preeclampsia, Rhesus conflict, diabetes mellitus. Infectious diseases also have a negative impact on the state of the child's place. Moreover, the danger exists even in the case when the expectant mother is simply a carrier of bacteria. If a pregnant woman smokes, uses alcohol or drugs, then the thickness of her placenta can also be increased.

The rate of aging of a child's place with such a pathology is accelerated, which means that this organ does not cope with its functions effectively enough. If the placenta is thickened, it swells, the structure of its walls becomes different, and a hormonal imbalance occurs. The result of such changes is insufficient provision of the child with oxygen and nutrients. This can cause a delay in intrauterine development of the baby, hypoxia, premature birth or even death of the fetus.

Based on the results of ultrasound diagnostics, Doppler sonography or cardiotocography, the doctor prescribes drugs to a pregnant woman with a thickened baby place,which stimulate the utero-placental exchange and support the normal development of the baby. If the condition of the fetus does not inspire concern, the doctor may limit himself to closer monitoring of the expectant mother.

If the thickness of the placenta is less than normal

Thin placenta may indicate hypoplasia of the child's place. This is the name of the state when this organ is not sufficiently developed and is not able to effectively cope with its functions.

An excessive decrease in the thickness of the placenta can be both a feature of the constitution of a pregnant woman (most often this happens in women of medium build), and be the result of a number of other reasons. For example, such a pathology can occur after the expectant mother has suffered an infectious disease. Hypertension, hemolytic disease or atherosclerosis may also affect.

If the insufficient thickness of the placenta is the result of any disease of the expectant mother, the increase in this indicator can be influenced by curing the corresponding disease. In other cases, the doctor uses drug therapy aimed at minimizing the possible negative consequences of the child's development.

It is time to consider such an important indicator as the maturity of the placenta.

What is the maturity of the placenta?

Maturation of the placenta is a natural process accompanying the growth of this organ. The development of the child's place takes place in such a way that it can fully and timely meet the needs of the fetus.

The degree of maturity of a child's place is the most important indicator. With it, you canassess the state of the placental complex. Also, this characteristic helps to identify pathological changes in the structure of the child's place in time, which can have a negative impact on the fetus.

If the pregnancy proceeds normally, then during its period the placenta passes 4 degrees of maturity. A detailed description of each follows below.

Degree of maturity of the placenta by weeks (table)

There are 4 degrees of maturity of the child's place. Each of them corresponds to a certain period of development of this body.

Below is a summary diagram describing each degree of placental maturity by week. The table contains characteristics of the structure of the child's place and chorionic tissue at various stages of pregnancy.

Degree of maturity of the placenta	Regular gestational age	Structure of the placenta	Characteristics of the chorionic tissue adjacent to the fetus	Presence of calcium deposits
Zero	Through week 30	Homogeneous	Smooth and even	Virtually non-existent
First	Weeks 27 to 36	There are a few seals	There are separate echogenic inclusions. Chorionic plate becomes waviness	Available in small quantities
Second	Weeks 34 to 39	There are pronounced seals in large numbers	There are small echogenic inclusions in large numbers. The chorionic plate becomes even more waviness	There are clearly visible areas
Third	After 36 weeks	Possible presence of cysts	Waviness of the chorionic plate is pronounced. The placenta has a lobular structure	Available in abundance

The table shows that the zero degree of placental maturity at 30 weeks is an indicator that is within the normal range. If the doctor, after examining the future mother, assessed the maturation of the child's place in this way, then the pregnancy is going well.

Detailed description of each stage of placental maturity

The next stage of maturation of the placenta normally lasts from 27 to 36 weeks of pregnancy. During this period, the size of the child's place stops growing, but its thickness gradually increases. The first degree of placental maturity at 34 weeks is a good indicator. Although at such a time after visiting the doctor, there is an opportunity to find out that the maturation of the child's place has reached the second level. And that will be the norm too.

From the 34th week, the most calm and stable stage of growing up of a child's place begins. The second degree of maturity of the placenta at 39 weeks is a boundary indicator. After this period, the development of a temporary organ should move to the third level. If such a transition occurs before the specified time, you should not worry. Most often, there is no cause for alarm in this case.

Next comes the third degree of maturity of the placenta. At 36 weeks and later, the baby's place enters the final phase of its development. During this period, the biological aging of the temporary organ occurs. It is accompanied by a reduction in the exchange area of the placenta and the appearance of a large number of areas of calcium deposits.

If a child's place is ahead of the norm of its development or, on the contrary, lags behind it, the development of pathologies is possible. Such situations are discussed below.

Untimely development of the placenta

One of the problems associated with a child's place may be its premature maturation. We can talk about such a pathology if the 2nd degree of maturity of the placenta at the 32nd week of pregnancy has already occurred. In this case, the condition of the fetus must be carefully monitored. After all, this situation indicates placental insufficiency. This common case will be discussed in more detail below.

Another problem that occurs somewhat less frequently than the previous one is the late maturation of the child's place. Most often, such a pathology is characteristic in the case when there are congenital malformations of the fetus. Additionalrisk factors are the disease of the expectant mother with diabetes mellitus, Rhesus conflict, or the presence of such bad habits in a pregnant woman as smoking or drinking alcohol. If there is a delay in the maturation of the placenta, then the risk of stillbirth increases.

Premature maturation of the placenta

Premature is considered such a development when the second degree of placental maturity occurs at 32 weeks of pregnancy and earlier.

The causes of this pathology are as follows:

• preeclampsia;
• disrupted hormonal background;
• diseases of the cardiovascular system or diabetes in pregnancy;
• presence of pathogens of infectious diseases;
• hypertension in expectant mother;
• multiple pregnancy;
• excess calcium in a woman's body;
• Previa or placental abruption;
• Rhesus conflict;
• pregnant use of alcohol, nicotine, drugs.

Also, growing up is considered premature when the third degree of placental maturity occurs before 36 weeks of pregnancy. However, in itself, early aging of a child's place is not an immediate threat to the he alth or life of the fetus. Such a pathology is dangerous in the case when the doctor, after examining the pregnant woman, revealed violations that could lead to negative consequences. This may be fetal hypoxia, intrauterine growth retardation, the risk of preterm birth.

Doctors should verify the presence of pathology using other diagnostic methods. If afears were confirmed, then the pregnant woman is prescribed appropriate treatment, in some cases even inpatient treatment.

Conclusion

The most important indicator of the state of the placenta is the degree of its maturity. This characteristic makes it possible to evaluate both physiological and pathological changes in the temporary organ. Using the special table given in the article, the expectant mother can find out the appropriate degree of placental maturity for a specific gestational age. Week 31, for example, should be characterized by the first level of development of the child's place.

If the diagnostic results are only slightly different from the norm, no need to worry. Trust your doctor. He will conduct additional studies, assess the condition of the fetus and, if necessary, prescribe appropriate treatment.