Low-Lying Placenta

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• Is a low-lying placenta a problem?
• How will I know if I have a low-lying placenta?
• What happens if my placenta is too close to my cervix?
• Do I have to have the scan?

Is a low-lying placenta a problem?

If a scan in the first half of your pregnancy shows that your placenta is lying near the bottom of your uterus (womb), it isn’t usually anything to worry about. In most cases, the placenta moves up as your pregnancy progresses. However, later in your pregnancy a low-lying placenta can be a problem for two reasons:

1. It may obstruct the cervix (neck of the uterus) and so prevent your baby from being born vaginally. This condition is called placenta praevia.

2. As the lower part of the uterus stretches in the second half of pregnancy, the placenta may become detached, causing severe bleeding. This is called placental abruption.

How will I know if I have a low-lying placenta?

If your placenta is found to be low at your mid-pregnancy ultrasound scan, you will be offered another scan when you are 32 weeks pregnant (NICE 2008). By this time, most placentas will have moved up out of the way of the cervix, but a few will need another scan a couple of weeks later. If it still looks low, you may be offered a vaginal scan. This will only take a few minutes and will show clearly how close your placenta is to your cervix.

What happens if my placenta is too close to my cervix?

Don't worry, because although a third of placentas are low in early pregnancy, very few are still low at the end. So it is unlikely you will have placenta praevia. Women whose placenta is still too low when the baby is ready to be born will need to have a caesarean section.

Do I have to have the scan?

No ultrasound scan is compulsory, and it's up to you whether you have this one. A low-lying placenta can also be diagnosed by internal examination, but this is only done in a hospital operating theatre when your baby is mature enough to be born. This is because there’s a danger that an internal examination can cause heavy bleeding, which may make an immediate caesarean necessary.

• maklumat yang aku dapat kt website nie...even aku baru 21w tp aku tipu la klu aku kate aku tak risau...and based pd maklumat nie...insyaallah, xperlu risau sgt sbb kemungkinan uri utk naik msh ade sbb aku leh kire early stage lg n that's why doc note repeat scan at 28-32w...and harap2 xmsk la stage placenta preavia tue...huhh...mudah-mudahan smuenye baik2 saja...
• sumber : Babycentre.com