Where is your placenta located

Anterior Placenta: Should I Worry?

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Medically reviewed by Valinda Riggins Nwadike, MD, MPH — By Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA — Updated on November 11, 2021

The placenta is a unique organ that’s only present during pregnancy. This disk- or pancake-shaped organ takes nutrients and oxygen from your body and transfers it to your baby. In return, the baby’s side will remove waste products thatgo back into your bloodstream to be eliminated.

When you deliver your baby, you’ll also deliver the placenta. For the most part, the placenta’s positioning isn’t cause for concern. But there are some positions that are more common than others. The anterior position is a less common place for the placenta to attach.

The placenta can attach virtually anywhere in the uterus to nourish your baby. Usually the placenta positions itself at either the top or side of the uterus.

But it’s always possible that the placenta will attach to the front of the stomach, a position known as an anterior placenta. If the placenta attaches to the back of the uterus, near your spine, this is known as a posterior placenta.

Typically, your doctor will check the position of your placenta during your midpregnancy ultrasound, which should take place between 18 and 21 weeks of pregnancy.

The anterior positioning of the placenta shouldn’t make a difference to your baby. It should continue to nourish your baby regardless of its positioning. But there are a few slight differences you may notice due to the placenta’s front positioning.

The placenta might create an extra space or cushion between your stomach and your baby, for example. You may feel kicks or punches later than in a typical pregnancy, because the placenta can act as a cushion.

Luckily these are minor inconveniences that shouldn’t impact your baby’s health.

An anterior placenta isn’t typically cause for concern. But there is a possibility that the anterior placenta could grow downward instead of upward. This means that your placenta grows toward your cervix.

This could possibly block the baby’s way on delivery day and cause bleeding. This condition is known as placenta previa. If the placenta blocks all or a portion of your cervix during labor, a cesarean delivery, commonly known as a C-section, is required.

Although an anterior placenta isn’t usually a cause for concern, your doctor may prepare you for signs that could indicate a placenta problem during pregnancy.

Contact your doctor if you experience the following symptoms, which could indicate a placenta problem:

abdominal pain
fast uterine contractions
severe back pains
vaginal bleeding

If you have experienced a fall or other trauma to your stomach, such as a car accident, call your doctor. These injuries could potentially affect your placenta’s health and may require a doctor’s examination.

Your doctor will continue to monitor the placement of your baby as well as the placenta throughout your pregnancy. Getting regular prenatal care and managing any conditions that may arise throughout your pregnancy can help you deliver a healthy baby.

If you’re concerned about your anterior placenta, talk with your doctor, who can discuss any individual risks given your health history. But for most people, an anterior placenta isn’t cause for concern.

Last medically reviewed on November 11, 2021

Parenthood
Pregnancy
2nd Trimester

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Anderson-Bagga FM, et al. (2021). Placenta previa.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539818/
Placenta problems | Placenta 101. (n.d.).
ontariofetalcentre.ca/placenta-clinic/placenta-101/
Zia S. (2013). Placental location and pregnancy outcome.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935544/

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Nov 11, 2021

Written By

Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA

Edited By

John Bassham

Medically Reviewed By

Valinda Riggins Nwadike, MD, MPH

Copy Edited By

Sofia Santamarina

Jan 5, 2018

Written By

Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA

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Medically reviewed by Valinda Riggins Nwadike, MD, MPH — By Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA — Updated on November 11, 2021

Placental Location & Position Scan Sydney

Ultrasound Care provides placental location ultrasounds to determine the location of the placenta and its proximity to the cervix.

What is the placenta?

The placenta is the organ which transfers oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s blood into the baby’s blood. It is connected to the mother’s uterus over a wide surface area. The baby is connected to the mother’s placenta via the umbilical cord.

Why do we use placental location ultrasound?

The placenta can be situated anywhere on the surface of the uterus. The front wall is called anterior. The back wall is called posterior. The side walls are called left lateral or right lateral. The top wall is called fundal. What matters most is where the lower edge of the placenta extends because if it is too low in the uterus it can cause bleeding and prevent the descent of the fetal head during labour.

The placenta location can change during the pregnancy for a number of reasons as outlined below:

Ultrasound is used to determine the location of the placenta and its proximity to the cervix.

Because of these reasons many pregnancies have a low-lying placenta at 18-20 weeks gestation, but they do not have a low-lying placenta by the end of the pregnancy.
If the placenta does stay low-lying, it is called “placenta praevia”. If the placenta completely covers the cervix, then there is no way the baby can deliver vaginally without causing massive haemorrhage from the mother and the baby. In this situation Caesarean section is the only safe way to deliver the baby.

What are the risk factors for placenta praevia?
There are several factors which can increase your risk for placenta praevia. These include:

The below table shows how the risk of placenta praevia increases after previous Caesarean sections:
Caesarean Sections Prevalence Placenta Praevia (%)
1 0.65
2 1. 80
3 3.00
4 10.00
A trans-abdominal image of a placenta with the umbilical cord leading from the placenta to the baby’s belly-button. This placenta is on the front wall of the uterus.
How low is too low?
There is much discussion about how far away from the cervix the placenta should be, to allow a normal vaginal birth without bleeding from mother or baby. It depends on a number of factors including:

However, if the placenta is less than 2cm from the opening of the uterus into the cervix, which is called the internal os at the 18-20 week scan, it may still be low at the time of the birth. Therefore, many obstetricians and midwives ask for it to be re-checked in the third trimester.
Please be assured, there is no need to worry unduly about this finding as about 10-15% of placentas are low-lying at the 18-20 week scan, but only 0.5% are still low-lying by full term.
A trans-abdominal image of the cervix and the lower edge of the placenta. The placenta is on the back wall of the uterus, and it is 6.2cm from the cervix.A trans-vaginal view of the placenta and cervix. The placenta is on the posterior (back) uterine wall. It covers the cervix completely.A trans-vaginal view of the placenta and cervix. The placenta is on the posterior (back) uterine wall. It is 1.5cm from the cervix.
How do I arrange for a placental location scan?
Ultrasound Care’s experienced team of specialist obstetricians and sonographers perform placental location ultrasounds in 8 different locations. To arrange for your placental location scan, please call an Ultrasound Care practice that is the most convenient for you, we have locations all around Sydney.

Placenta: structure, development and functions

What is the role of the placenta for mother and child?

Placenta (or baby place) is a unique organ in the female body that exists only during pregnancy and looks like a cake. There is a child inside the placenta, and it plays the role of its most reliable protection from all harmful external factors. It is in the placenta that the baby can grow and develop, and according to its condition, doctors can tell about various intrauterine problems and pathologies. nine0005
Formation of the placenta

The placenta begins to form on the 7th day after fertilization, from the cells that surround the embryo. However, the placenta begins to fulfill its full function starting from the 16th week of pregnancy, when its thickness reaches 15 mm, and its size is 15-20 cm. The placenta, as we have already said, outwardly resembles a cake, Consisting of a large number of slices pierced by vessels. The placenta has a so-called "maternal part", with which it is attached to the uterine mucosa, and a "baby part", which faces the child and to which the umbilical cord is attached. nine0005
Placental development

The placenta reaches its "maturity" at 38-40 weeks of pregnancy. Then its diameter is 15-20 cm, width - 2.5-3.5 cm, and weight - 500-600 g. In childbirth, the placenta is "born" within 15 minutes after the birth of the child. The doctor carefully examines her to make sure that she was “born” entirely (since the pieces left inside the woman can fester over time), and also to understand how calm the pregnancy was, whether there were detachments, infectious processes, etc. . (the cleanliness of the surface of the placenta depends on this). nine0005
Functions of the placenta and its importance for the development of pregnancy and child:

Produces hormones that help maintain pregnancy.

Through it, the child receives oxygen, nutrition, as well as protection.

The waste products of the baby pass through the placenta.

The placenta protects the child, not letting in, in particular, the mother's antibodies to him (which contributes to the formation of his own immunity). Mother's antibodies, having penetrated to the child, could recognize it as a foreign object and try to harm it. nine0034

Diagnosis of the placenta is based on ultrasound examination (ultrasound).

Read also: Degrees of aging of the placenta

Possible pathologies of the placenta

Obstetrician-gynecologist Svetlana Pedchenko emphasizes that it is very important for the expectant mother to know what can happen to the placenta during pregnancy, how this can affect the child and be objectively aware of the importance of its safety and healthy development. Specifically:

Early maturation of the placenta - possible late toxicosis, the threat of miscarriage, malnutrition of the child.

Late maturation of the placenta (typical for pregnant women with pathologies of the child, diabetes mellitus or Rh conflict) - stillbirth or congenital mental retardation of the child.

Violation of the size of the placenta - leads to the inability of the placenta to perform its functions and requires additional research and monitoring of pregnancy by doctors. nine0034
Low attachment of the placenta - is fraught with its detachment and premature birth.

Mom-member of the forum UAUA. info under the nickname ELENA writes: “The doctors initially told me about a low placenta, but this didn’t really bother anyone until I got the flu at 36 weeks. After that, a detachment occurred and I had to urgently have a caesarean…”

Placenta previa - May cause bleeding or premature labour. nine0034
Placental cyst - a sign of an inflammatory process. Typically, cysts have a separate blood supply, separate from the rest of the placenta, and do not affect the development of the baby. However, additional diagnostics are still needed to rule out possible placental insufficiency.

Placental abruption (or its bleeding) is a severe obstetric pathology that can be fatal for mother and child if it is not detected in time. Also, abruption of the placenta often leads to premature birth, natural or via caesarean section, with the possible subsequent removal of the uterus (if it is too saturated with blood and cannot contract). nine0034
Accretion or placenta firmly attached - found during labor. In this case, after the birth of the baby, the placenta is separated manually. This procedure is done under general anesthesia.

We hope and sincerely wish that your placenta is strong and healthy and provides everything your baby needs. However, at the slightest doubt about this, we recommend, without delay, to seek help from your doctor.

Have a healthy pregnancy and an easy delivery! nine0004

Read also: If the placenta is along the anterior wall

What is the placenta

It connects two organisms - the mother and the fetus, providing it with the necessary nutrients.

Where is the placenta located and what does it look like?

In a normal pregnancy, the placenta is located in the body of the uterus along its posterior (more often) or anterior wall. It is fully formed by the 15-16th week of pregnancy, after the 20th week, active exchange begins through the placental vessels. From the 22nd to the 36th week of pregnancy, an increase in the mass of the placenta occurs, and by the 36th week it reaches full functional maturity. nine0005 Figure 1. Schematic representation of the location of the placenta in the uterus of a pregnant woman. Photo: Wikipedia (Public Domain)
In appearance, the placenta looks like a round flat disk. By the time of delivery, the weight of the placenta is 500-600 g, the diameter is 15-18 cm and the thickness is 2-3 cm.

Functions of the placenta
Photo: zffoto / freepik.com

First, gas exchange occurs through the placenta: oxygen penetrates from the mother's blood to the fetus, and carbon dioxide is transported in the opposite direction. nine0034
Secondly, the fetus receives through the placenta the nutrients necessary for its growth and development. It must be remembered that many substances (alcohol, nicotine, drugs, many drugs, viruses) easily penetrate through it and can have a damaging effect on the fetus. In addition, with its help, the fetus gets rid of the products of its vital activity.

Thirdly, the placenta provides immunological protection to the fetus, delaying the cells of the mother's immune system, which, having penetrated to the fetus and recognized a foreign object in it, could trigger its rejection reactions. At the same time, the placenta passes maternal antibodies that protect the fetus from infections. nine0034
Fourthly, the placenta plays the role of an endocrine gland and synthesizes hormones (human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), placental lactogen, prolactin, etc.) necessary to maintain pregnancy, growth and development of the fetus.

Normally, the placenta together with the membranes (afterbirth) is born 10-15 minutes after the birth of the fetus. She is carefully examined and sent for a morphological study. First, it is very important to make sure that the whole placenta was born (that is, there are no damages on its surface and there is no reason to believe that pieces of the placenta remained in the uterine cavity). Secondly, according to the state of the placenta, one can judge the course of pregnancy (whether there was an abruption, infectious processes, etc.). nine0005
What do doctors want to know about the placenta?

During pregnancy, it is important to look for signs of placental dysfunction - placental insufficiency. To do this, during an ultrasound study, the structure of the placenta, its location in the uterine cavity, thickness, and the correspondence of the size of the fetus to the gestational age are studied. In addition, the blood flow in the placental vessels is studied.

Degree of maturity
Photo: wavebreakmedia-micro / freepik.com
This parameter, as doctors say, is "ultrasonic", that is, it depends on the density of the structures of the placenta determined by ultrasound. nine0005
There are four degrees of placental maturity:

Normally, zero degree of placental maturity should be determined before 30 weeks of pregnancy.

The first degree is considered valid from 27 to 34 weeks.

Second - from 34 to 39.

Starting from 37 weeks, the third degree of placental maturity can be determined.

At the end of pregnancy, the so-called physiological aging of the placenta occurs, accompanied by a decrease in the area of its exchange surface, the appearance of areas of salt deposition. nine0005
Place of attachment
Photo: kuprevich / freepik.com
Determined by ultrasound. As mentioned above, during a normal pregnancy, the placenta is located in the body of the uterus. Sometimes, during an ultrasound examination in the first half of pregnancy, it is found that the placenta is located in the lower parts of the uterus, reaching or even overlapping the area of the internal os of the cervix. In the future, as pregnancy progresses, the placenta most often shifts from the lower sections of the uterus to the top. However, if after 32 weeks the placenta still overlaps the area of the internal os, this condition is called *placenta previa**, which is a serious complication of pregnancy. nine0005
Placenta previa can lead to bleeding, which can occur during the second or third trimester of pregnancy or during childbirth.
Ultrasound with placenta previa. Turk J Obstet Gynecol / ResearchGate (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license)
Thickness

Also determined by ultrasound - placentometry: after establishing the site of attachment of the placenta, the area where it has the largest size is found, which is determined. The thickness of the placenta, as already mentioned, continuously increases until 36-37 weeks of pregnancy (by this time it ranges from 20 to 40 mm). Then its growth stops, and in the future the thickness of the placenta either decreases or remains at the same level. nine0005
Deviation from the norm of at least one of these indicators may indicate trouble during pregnancy.

References

Tiwari D., Das CR., Sultana R., Kashyap N., Islam M., Bose PD., Saikia AK., Bose S. Increased homocysteine mediated oxidative stress as a key determinant of hepatitis E virus ( HEV) infected pregnancy complication and outcome: A study from Northeast India. // Infect Genet Evol - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.104882; PMID:33905889
nine0033 Salmanian B., Belfort M.A., Shamshirsaz A.A. The risk of placenta accreta spectrum in women with in vitro fertilization in different populations. // Am J Obstet Gynecol - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.; PMID:33905744
Olmos-Ortiz A., Olivares-Huerta A., García-Quiroz J., Zariñán T., Chavira R., Zaga-Clavellina V., Avila E., Halhali A., Durand M., Larrea F., Díaz L. Placentas associated with female neonates from pregnancies complicated by urinary-tract infections have higher cAMP content and cytokines expression than males. // Am J Reprod Immunol - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.e13434; PMID:33905581

Tandl V., Hoch D., Bandres-Meriz J., Nikodijevic S., Desoye G., Majali-Martinez A. Different regulation of IRE1α and eIF2α pathways by oxygen and insulin in ACH-3P trophoblast model. // Reproduction - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.; PMID:33904834

Ji S., Gumina D., McPeak K., Moldovan R., Post MD., Su EJ. Human placental villous stromal extracellular matrix regulates fetoplacental angiogenesis in severe fetal growth restriction. // Clin Sci (Lond) - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.; PMID:33904582

Shmeleva EV., Colucci F. Maternal natural killer cells at the intersection between reproduction and mucosal immunity. // Mucosal Immunol - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.; PMID:33903735

Moreno-Sepulveda J., Espinós JJ., Checa MA. Lower risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in natural versus artificial frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: a systematic review and meta-analysis. // Reprod Biomed Online - 2021 - Vol - NNULL - p.
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