Anterior placenta

My 18 weeks scan showed I have an anterior placenta (at the front). It is
well clear of my cervix.

What does this mean to my pregnancy?

Cheers
Camille

As long as it's not near the cervix, it sounds like it will be fine.
"Cam & Shane" wrote in message
...
My 18 weeks scan showed I have an anterior placenta (at the front). It is
well clear of my cervix.

What does this mean to my pregnancy?

Cheers
Camille




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Cam & Shane wrote:
My 18 weeks scan showed I have an anterior placenta (at the front). It is
well clear of my cervix.

What does this mean to my pregnancy?

As long as the placenta is well clear of the cervix you should be
fine. Anterior placentas mean it can be a little hard for fetal
monitoring to pick up the baby. The ultrasound I had at 18 or so weeks
also showed an ant. placenta. I have to remind my midwife to try from
the side when she checks for the baby's heartbeat and each time that
works. During labor, if you request intermittant monitoring you may
have to remind the nurses of the best places to put the doppler or
they'll just leave it on forever to try and get a good reading.

Anterior placentas are also *associated* with posterior babies. It
doesn't mean you will have back labor and an OP baby, but knowing your
placenta is in front, I would recommend taking a little extra time to
go over labor positions that can help turn the baby and how to deal
with back labor. Learning more about labor can only be good, and if
you are extra prepared (I have practiced the knee chest position and
dh and I go over all the 'helps with back labor' positions more than I
would otherwise) and don't need it, that's better than needing it and
not knowing -- in case the nurses don't have any helpful ideas.

If you do have back labor and an OP baby, bear in mind that a number
of c-sesions for 'failure to progress' and 'baby is too bug for
pelvis' can often result from mispresentation combined with early
interventions like having your water broken or an early epidural that
prevents moving around to help the baby change position.

Carolyn




--
Carolyn Fairman (to email me, terra is earth...)
Mom to Julian, born Sept. 28, 1998
ds #2 due mid Feb 2004!

Carolyn Fairman wrote:
|| Cam & Shane wrote:
||| My 18 weeks scan showed I have an anterior placenta (at the front).
||| It is well clear of my cervix.
|||
||| What does this mean to my pregnancy?
||
|| As long as the placenta is well clear of the cervix you should be
|| fine. Anterior placentas mean it can be a little hard for fetal
|| monitoring to pick up the baby. The ultrasound I had at 18 or so
|| weeks also showed an ant. placenta. I have to remind my midwife to
|| try from the side when she checks for the baby's heartbeat and each
|| time that works. During labor, if you request intermittant
|| monitoring you may have to remind the nurses of the best places to
|| put the doppler or they'll just leave it on forever to try and get a
|| good reading.
||
|| Anterior placentas are also *associated* with posterior babies. It
|| doesn't mean you will have back labor and an OP baby, but knowing
|| your placenta is in front, I would recommend taking a little extra
|| time to go over labor positions that can help turn the baby and how
|| to deal with back labor. Learning more about labor can only be good,
|| and if you are extra prepared (I have practiced the knee chest
|| position and dh and I go over all the 'helps with back labor'
|| positions more than I would otherwise) and don't need it, that's
|| better than needing it and not knowing -- in case the nurses don't
|| have any helpful ideas.
||
|| If you do have back labor and an OP baby, bear in mind that a number
|| of c-sesions for 'failure to progress' and 'baby is too bug for
|| pelvis' can often result from mispresentation combined with early
|| interventions like having your water broken or an early epidural that
|| prevents moving around to help the baby change position.
||
|| Carolyn
||

I just have to second Carolyn's post! I am not sure if I had an anterior
placenta with DS but I definitely had horrendous back labor and a OP with
him. Arm yourself with knowledge! My L& D was just like that last paragraph
although I *just* missed a csec in the operating room, instead it was
vacuum, forceps and a cut that resulting in a third degree tear. Not once
did anyone suggest anything other than more drugs. Not a fun experience :-(
--?

Jenn
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellybean due June 25/04

Cam & Shane wrote:
: My 18 weeks scan showed I have an anterior placenta (at the front). It
is
: well clear of my cervix.
:
: What does this mean to my pregnancy?


I think also I remember reading somewhere that having an anterior placenta
can result in more than average blood loss in the event of a c-section if
the placenta is low-lying, since doctors basically cut through it when
making the uterine incision.

Erin, mama to Annika, born Nov. 6, 2003