Without the normal functioning of the placenta, it is impossible to imagine the full growth and development of the baby. This article will help you understand what placenta previa on the anterior wall of the uterus means and what it affects.
What it is?
To ensure the vital activity of the chorion, and later on the fetus, full blood flow is required. The baby can receive all the nutrients and oxygen through the uteroplacental artery system. They pass through the placenta in large numbers, ensuring the growth and development of the fetus.
The main function, which is inherent in the placental tissue by nature, is to provide the fetus with nutrients, as well as to protect it from external influences. The intrauterine development of the fetus largely depends on how the placenta will be located. At a certain stage of pregnancy, the movement of the fetus helps to determine the intensity of fetal growth.
The intensity of the baby's intrauterine development also depends on how the placenta is attached. The attachment of placental tissue is determined, in fact, from the first weeks of pregnancy. The localization of implantation of a fertilized egg affects where the placental tissue will be located.
The placenta is most often located along the back wall of the uterus in the area of its fundus. In some cases, it can be located in the area of the side walls - either right or left. If there is a lot of placental tissue, then it can be attached to several uterine walls at once.
This physiological location of the placenta can be easily explained. The blood supply in the area of the fundus of the uterus and its posterior wall is quite well expressed. This helps the fetus grow quickly and intensively.
Obstetricians-gynecologists note that the placenta in some cases can attach to the anterior wall of the uterus. It should be noted that this is much less common.
The normal attachment of the placenta along the posterior wall is due to nature for a reason. This arrangement is more beneficial for the intrauterine development of the fetus.
Placental tissue can be attached in different parts of the uterus. So, most often it is attached in the bottom area. However, under certain conditions, the laying of placental tissue occurs below - in the region of the lower segment of the uterus. Too low location of the placental tissue is fraught with the development of its presentation.
Doctors consider placenta previa as a pathology when the placental tissue is in close proximity to the internal os of the uterus. Normally, there is a certain distance between them. So, in the 2nd trimester, the placental tissue is normally higher than the internal pharynx by 5 cm. If this distance is significantly reduced, then such a pathological condition is called presentation.
Doctors identify several clinical options for placental presentation. So, placenta previa can be central, marginal or lateral. Different clinical variants of this pathology are due to the wall to which the placental tissue is attached.
Why is this happening?
The attachment of the placenta to the anterior wall of the uterus is due to the very early stages of pregnancy. It happens quite simply. For some reason, a fertilized egg cannot attach to the fundus of the uterus and begins to sink lower. So it goes down almost to the internal pharynx, where it is implanted.
Various gynecological diseases can contribute to the development of anterior placenta previa. Chronic inflammation in a woman's reproductive organs leads to damage. In this case, the mucous membrane lining the inner surface of the uterus changes. Such changes contribute to the fact that the fertilized egg can attach in the lower parts.
The placenta can be attached to the anterior wall of the uterus even if a woman has undergone a number of gynecological operations. So, curettage or the consequences of surgical abortions can contribute to the development of this type of presentation.
Doctors note that the risk of developing placenta previa is slightly higher in multiparous women. If, at the same time, a woman has a burdened obstetric and gynecological history, then the probability of anterior presentation of the placental tissue increases several times.
The development of this pathology can also contribute to various congenital pathologies of the reproductive organs. Placenta previa can occur in women with uterine hypoplasia. Anatomical structural defects of the uterus can also contribute to the development of this pathology.
Features of this location
The attachment of placental tissue along the anterior wall is less physiological. This arrangement of placental tissue has both disadvantages and advantages. There are far fewer advantages than disadvantages.
It should also be noted that such a clinical situation requires a certain medical approach. A pregnant woman who has such an arrangement of the placenta requires rather careful observation from doctors.
Pros
The advantages of anterior placenta previa include the possibility of migration. During several months of waiting for the baby to be born, the placental tissue can change its position. Doctors note that the placental tissue in the anterior presentation of the placenta is much easier to displace than in the posterior presentation.
Minuses
It has been noted that the placenta is rarely attached to the anterior wall of the uterus. This feature is of great biological importance. The explanation is quite simple. The placental tissue is very delicate. It can be easily damaged due to the effects of various external traumatic influences.
The location of the placenta on the anterior wall of the uterus can be dangerous by the development of its detachment. In this case, abdominal trauma can contribute to the development of dangerous uterine bleeding. If it is too intense, then in such a situation, acute oxygen starvation of the fetus may develop, which means that there will be a strong threat to the baby's life.
Is placental migration possible?
Migration is a change in the original location of the placenta. Experts believe that a change in the localization of the placental tissue during presentation along the anterior wall is possible. Pregnant women and doctors are usually alerted to this when they seek advice.
If a placenta previa is found to the anterior wall in the early stages of pregnancy, the expectant mother, first of all, should not panic. The onset of labor is still quite far away. During this time, the placental tissue can shift and even significantly change its position.
Such changes are assessed through an ultrasound scan. As a rule, doctors prescribe several consecutive ultrasound examinations to track dynamics. When placental presentation is present, vaginal examinations should often not be performed. The lower the placenta is, the more likely it is to be damaged. Tracking the dynamics of the location of placental tissue in presentation is very important. It helps doctors to identify developing complications in a timely manner and to take the necessary measures to improve the situation.
It should be noted that in most cases the placental tissue changes its position rather slowly. It is optimal if this process takes place in the female body for 6-10 weeks. In this case, the likelihood that the expectant mother will develop any pronounced uncomfortable symptoms is rather low. Usually, placental tissue migration is completely completed by the middle of the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
If the placental tissue for some reason moves too quickly, adverse symptoms may also occur. The most dangerous of them is the development of bleeding and detachment of placental tissue from the uterine wall. Typically, adverse symptoms develop if placental migration occurs within 1 to 2 weeks. The rate of migration of the placenta depends on many factors and reasons, including how high the placental tissue was initially located.
Effects
During pregnancy, proceeding with the development of anterior placenta previa, various surprises can be expected. Usually, adverse symptoms begin to develop in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. The course of the 3rd trimester can also be complicated by the development of a number of pathologies.
Expectant mothers should remember that the presence of placenta previa is not a death sentence for the birth of a healthy child. Quite a lot of women who have given birth to their healthy long-awaited babies have already encountered such a pathology.
It is important to remember that such a "special" pregnancy requires only a more attentive attitude of the expectant mother to her health, as well as careful monitoring of the course of intrauterine development of the fetus by specialists.
With a low location of the placenta and its presentation, the most dangerous complication is, perhaps, the development of bleeding. If it is strong enough, it does not go unnoticed. In this situation, the woman notices the appearance of blood from the genital tract. The severity of bleeding can be different, the color of the blood - from bright red to dark brown. In this situation, the main thing is to remember that when such bloody discharge appears, women with placenta previa should immediately seek advice from an obstetrician-gynecologist.
Placental abruption is another complication that can develop during such a pregnancy. The severity of the disorders that arise in this case largely depends on how much the placenta has detached from the uterine wall.
If this area is small, then a detachment can be detected only through an ultrasound scan. In this case, the woman may not even have bloody discharge from the genital tract, or they will be so insignificant that they will be left unattended.
If the placental tissue exfoliates strongly enough, then in such a situation it is already possible to suspect this condition by clinical symptoms. So, the expectant mother begins to feel pretty bad. She has severe weakness, pain in the abdomen may develop, and bloody discharge from the genital tract also appears.
Severe placental abruption is also dangerous in violation of the general condition of the fetus. Violation of oxygen supply leads to the fact that the fetus begins to experience hypoxia - oxygen starvation. This situation, as a rule, contributes to the fact that the clinical parameters of the fetus change. So, his heart rate and physical activity change significantly.
With the development of severe placental abruption, a pregnant woman needs to be urgently hospitalized in a hospital. The further algorithm of medical actions will largely depend on how long the pregnancy is.
If the threat to the life of the mother or the fetus is too high, doctors will be forced to resort to emergency obstetrics. This is carried out for health reasons.
How is labor going?
The choice of obstetric tactics with placenta previa, as a rule, is quite responsible. The life and health of the expectant mother and her baby depend on this.
It should be noted that nowadays more and more obstetricians-gynecologists give their preference to the surgical method of obstetrics, choosing a cesarean section. In this situation, the threat of development of birth injuries and injuries is much lower. Of course, a cesarean section has certain disadvantages, since it is essentially a surgical operation.
However, in placenta previa, the preservation of the baby's life is important. Reviews of many women who have placenta previa on the anterior wall of the uterus and have already become mothers confirm that they underwent a cesarean section.
The presence of a burdened obstetric and gynecological history in a pregnant woman is also an additional condition for a caesarean section to be performed. Independent natural childbirth in this case can be dangerous not only by the development of a number of pathologies for the baby, but also by a significant deterioration in the health of the expectant mother.
The obstetrics tactics are chosen individually. For this, a specialist evaluates several factors at once. Obstetricians-gynecologists must take into account the woman's age, the presence of concomitant diseases, clinical indicators of intrauterine fetal development, the presence of formed pathologies during pregnancy, and much more.
It is important to remember that during pregnancy, proceeding with the development of placenta previa along the anterior wall of the uterus, the expectant mother from the first days after establishing such a diagnosis should very carefully monitor her well-being.
If you experience adverse symptoms, it is extremely important not to postpone visiting your obstetrician-gynecologist to clarify the situation.
For what does placenta previa mean, see the next video.
