What is the placenta? | Pregnancy Birth and Baby

The placenta is a large organ that develops during pregnancy. It is attached to the wall of the uterus, usually at the top or side. The umbilical cord connects ... PRINT SHARE shareviaFacebook shareviaTwitter shareviaEmail Thereisatotalof5errorsonthisform,detailsarebelow. Pleaseenteryourname Pleaseenteryouremail Youremailisinvalid.Pleasecheckandtryagain Pleaseenterrecipient'semail Recipient'semailisinvalid.Pleasecheckandtryagain AgreetoTermsrequired Thankyouforsharingourcontent.Amessagehasbeensenttoyourrecipient'semailaddresswithalinktothecontentwebpage. Yourname:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Youremail:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Error:Notavalidvalue Sendto:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Error:Notavalidvalue Error:Thisisrequired IhavereadandagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicyisrequired. Theplacentaiscrucialtokeepingyourbabyaliveandwellduringpregnancy.Itisanorganattachedtotheliningofthewombthatdeliversoxygenandnutrientstothegrowingbaby. Abouttheplacenta Theplacentaisalargeorganthatdevelopsduringpregnancy.Itisattachedtothewalloftheuterus,usuallyatthetoporside.Theumbilicalcordconnectstheplacentatoyourbaby. Bloodfromthemotherpassesthroughtheplacenta,filteringoxygen,glucoseandothernutrientstoyourbabyviatheumbilicalcord.Theplacentaalsofiltersoutsubstancesthatcouldbeharmfultoyourbabyandremovescarbondioxideandwasteproductsfromyourbaby’sblood. Theplacentaproducesanumberofhormonesthatareneededduringpregnancy,suchaslactogen,oestrogenandprogesterone.Itkeepsthemother’sbloodseparatefromthebaby’sbloodtoprotectthebabyagainstinfections.Towardstheendofthepregnancy,theplacentapassesonantibodiestoprotectthebabyafterbirth. Alcohol,nicotineandotherdrugsandmedicinescancrosstheplacentaanddamageyourbaby. Whathappenstotheplacentaduringpregnancy? Theplacentaoftendevelopslowinthewombbutmovestothesideorupasthewombstretches.Thepositionoftheplacentawillbecheckedatyour18-weekultrasound. Theplacentaisexpelledfromyourbodyafterthebirth,usuallyabout5to30minutesafteryourbabyisborn.Thisiscalledthethirdstageoflabour. Afterthebabyisbornyouwillcontinuetohavemildcontractions.Youwillhavetogiveonemorepushtodelivertheplacenta.Sometimesyourabdomenwillbemassagedoryouwillbegivenaninjectionofoxytocinandtheumbilicalcordwillbegentlypulledtohelpdelivertheplacenta. Ifyouhaveacaesareansection,thedoctorwillremovetheplacentaatthesametime. Itisimportantthatthewholeplacentacomesoutafterpregnancy.Ifanyfragmentsoftheplacentastayinside,theywillhavetobesurgicallyremovedtopreventbleedingandinfection. Howtokeepyourplacentahealthy Itisimportanttovisityourhealthcareproviderregularlyduringpregnancytocheckforanyproblemswithyourplacenta. Tellyourdoctorifyouhavehadproblemswiththeplacentainapreviouspregnancy,orifyouhavehadanysurgerytoyourwomb. Don’tsmoke,drinkalcoholortakeillegaldrugsduringpregnancybecausethisincreasesthelikelihoodyouwillhaveproblemswiththeplacenta.Alwaysconsultyourdoctorbeforeyoutakeanymedicines,includingover-the-countermedicines,naturaltherapiesandsupplements,whileyouarepregnant. Speakwithyourdoctorormidwifeifyouhaveanyconcerns,orifyouexperience: severeabdominalorbackpain vaginalbleeding contractions anytraumatoyourabdomen,forexamplefromafallorcaraccident Placentacomplications Problemswiththeplacentacanpotentiallybedangerousforbothmotherandbaby: Placentaaccreta:Whentheplacentagrowstoodeeplyintothewalloftheuterus.Thiscanleadtomassivebloodlossduringorafterdeliveryandcanbelife-threatening. Placentalabruption:Whentheplacentapeelsawayfromthewallofthewombbeforedelivery.Thiscancausebleedingandwillmeanyourbabymaynotbegettingallthenutrientstheyneed.Insomecases,anearlydeliverymaybeneeded. Placentapraevia:Whentheplacentapartiallyortotallycoversthecervix,theopeningthroughwhichthebabywillcomeout.Thisconditionismorecommonearlyinpregnancyandoftenresolvesastheplacentamoveshigherintheuterusastheuterusgrows.Iftheplacentaisstillcoveringthecervixclosetothetimeofdelivery,acaesareansectionwillbenecessary. Placentalinsufficiency:Whentheplacentadoesn’tworkproperlyduringpregnancy,deprivingthebabyofoxygenandnutrients.Thiscanaffectthegrowthofthebaby. Retainedplacenta:Theplacentamaynotcomeoutafterthebirthbecauseitisblockedbythecervixoritisstillattachedtotheuterus.Thiscancausesevereinfectionorbloodloss,andcanbelife-threatening. Optionsfortheplacentaafterthebirth Insomecultures,familiesburytheplacentainaspecialplace. Thereisalsoararepractice,knownasplacentophagy,inwhichwomencookandeattheplacenta.Somecommercialserviceproviderswilloffertoturnyourplacentaintocapsulesforyoutoswallow. However,thesepracticesshouldbetreatedwithcautionsincethereisnoregulationinAustraliaeitheroftheseproductsortheprovidersofplacentapills. Recentresearchshowstherearenoknownhealthbenefitsfromeatingtheplacenta,buttheremaybeariskofinfectionfrompoorproductionstandards. Learnmorehereaboutthedevelopmentandqualityassuranceofhealthdirectcontent. Lastreviewed:August2020 BackToTop Relatedpages Mum'sfirst24hoursafterbirth Givingbirth-earlysignsoflabour Placentacomplicationsinpregnancy Searchoursitefor Pregnancy ChorionicVillusSampling Fetus Retainedplacenta PlacentalAbruption PlacentaPrevia Retainedplacenta Aretainedplacentaiswhenpartoralloftheplacentaisnotdeliveredafterthebabyisborn.Itcanleadtoseriousinfectionorbloodloss. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Placentaprevia-BetterHealthChannel betterhealth.vic.gov.au ReadmoreonBetterHealthChannelwebsite Placentapraevia Placentapraeviaisaconditionwheretheplacentalieslowandmaycoverthecervix,blockingthebaby'sexitduringbirth. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Placentaaccreta Placentaaccretaisaseriousbutrarepregnancycomplicationthatcausesheavybleeding.Ifyouhaveit,youwillneedspecialcareatthebirth. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Placentacomplicationsinpregnancy Theplacentadevelopsinsidetheuterusduringpregnancyandprovidesyourbabywithnutrientsandoxygen.Ifsomethinggoeswrong,itcanbeserious. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Placentalinsufficiency Placentalinsufficiencyoccurswhentheplacentadoesnotworkproperlyandyourbabydoesn'tgettheoxygenandnutrientstheyneed. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Itisnotjustawoman’sissue-AlcoholandDrugFoundation Ifawomandrinksduringpregnancythealcoholcrossestheplacentatothebaby.Butwhatabouttheeffectofalcoholonmen? ReadmoreonAlcoholandDrugFoundationwebsite Placentalabruption Placentalabruptioniswhensomeoralloftheplacentapeelsawayfromtheuteruswallbeforebirth.Itcandeprivethebabyofoxygenandnutrients. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Pregnancytest-LabTestsOnlineAU Startingapproximatelytwoweeksafterconception,ahormonecalled humanchorionicgonadatropin(hCG)hormoneisproducedbythedevelopingplacentaandcanbedetectedinurineandinblood ReadmoreonLabTestsOnlineAUwebsite 4weekspregnant:Keypoints Whenyouare4weekspregnantyourbodyandyournewbabyareundergoingrapidchanges.Theplacentaformsandbeginsproducingahormonecalledhumanchorionicgonadotrophin(hCG),whichisthesubstanceapregnancytestdetectstoconfirmyouarepregnant.Thecellswhicharegrowingintoyournewbabyestablishmembraneswhichconnectthemtotheplacentaandpreparethemselvesfordifferentiationintodifferenttypesofcells,whichwilloccurnextweekwhenyouare5weekspregnant.Thesedevelopmentsmaycauseyoutoexperienceunusualemotionsandalsocausechangesinyourbodysuchasdarkeningoftheareolasofyournipples. ReadmoreonParenthubwebsite Show more Pregnancy,BirthandBabyisnotresponsibleforthecontentandadvertisingontheexternalwebsiteyouarenow entering. 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Relatedpages Mum'sfirst24hoursafterbirth Givingbirth-earlysignsoflabour Placentacomplicationsinpregnancy Searchoursitefor Pregnancy ChorionicVillusSampling Fetus Retainedplacenta PlacentalAbruption PlacentaPrevia   Findlocalhealthservices Blog COVID-19vaccination,pregnancyandbreastfeeding Gettingthemostoutofyourpharmacist Weightedblankets–aretheysafeforkidsorduringpregnancy? Moreblogposts Checkyoursymptoms Findahealthservice CallusandspeaktoaMaternalChildHealthNurseforpersonaladviceandguidance. Needfurtheradviceorguidancefromourmaternalchildhealthnurses? 1800882436 Videocall Thisinformationisforyourgeneralinformationanduseonlyandisnotintendedtobeusedasmedicaladviceandshouldnotbeusedtodiagnose,treat,cureorpreventanymedicalcondition,norshoulditbeusedfortherapeuticpurposes. Theinformationisnotasubstituteforindependentprofessionaladviceandshouldnotbeusedasanalternativetoprofessionalhealthcare.Ifyouhaveaparticularmedicalproblem,pleaseconsultahealthcareprofessional. 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