Placenta is the temporary but vital organ which usually develops during the pregnancy phase of women. It usually starts developing with the implantation of the blastocyst. It basically acts as a medium between the mother and child. It provides all the necessary things to the baby from mother, i.e., blood supply, oxygen, food, nutrients, and also helps in carrying the waste into maternal circulation, which is further eliminated by mother’s kidney.
Placenta is attached to baby via umbilical cord, therefore after delivery of the baby it is also delivered. Now, after delivery baby can live by own self, there is no need of placenta for baby or mother. General placement of the placenta is the fundus part (upper part) of the uterus. Other locations are lateral, anterior, and posterior where a placenta can be attached.
What do you understand by this blog:
After reading this blog, you can easily understand what is anterior placenta and how common it is. There is broad explanation given about anterior placenta and its other attachment and its effect on your pregnancy. So, you get an idea whether you have any need to consult any doctor or not.
What is anterior placenta?
Anterior placenta basically means that the attachment of placenta is in the anterior wall of the uterus, close to the abdominal wall of mother. Don’t worry, it usually doesn’t mean that you have to be concerned about it.
During development of the placenta, it can be attached anywhere in the uterus. Its common attachment is at the fundus part of the uterus.
Other than this, it can be attached anywhere in the uterus, like at lateral walls, posterior, anterior, or at the lower segment of the uterus. Anterior placenta is a kind of cushion between the baby and abdomen of the mother. It can be found via ultrasound between 18 to 21 weeks of the gestation period.
Keep in mind function of placenta never get affected by its position.
Symptoms and causes:
Having anterior placenta doesn’t mean you suffer from any specific symptoms, as this position of the placenta doesn’t harm the developing baby or the mother until you have some complication. So these are not symptoms but the normal pregnancy experiences that can feel slightly different because of the anterior position of the placenta.
- Severe back pain
- Abdominal pain
- Delayed fetal movement sensation
- Difficulty during fetal kicks count
- Vaginal bleeding
- Fetal uterine contractions
Having anterior placenta doesn’t need any specific cause; it can happen as the fertilized egg develops and placenta develops at the same place in the uterine walls. Position of the placenta doesn’t affect any function of the placenta; it normally performs its function without concern for the position of the placenta.
How it can affect your pregnancy?
Anterior placenta doesn’t affect the pregnancy in a serious way. Any mild changes can be noticeable due to the anterior position of the placenta. It mainly includes:
1. Heart rate of the developing baby:
Heartbeat of the baby can be heard after a month of intrauterine life. It can be heard by using Doppler ultrasound, in which the instrument is placed on the abdomen; it helps in detecting the heart rate of the developing baby. In case of anterior placenta, due to the anterior placement of the placenta, it can act as a barrier which leads to a delay in detecting fetal heart sound.
2. Fetal movement sensation:
In general, fetal movement is felt during the 18th week of pregnancy, but in the case of anterior placenta, it may delay these fetal movement sensations because of anterior placement of the placenta. So it can be felt around or after the 20th week of pregnancy in case of anterior placenta.
How common is it?
Anterior placenta is a kind of normal position of the uterus. It doesn’t cause any concern until some complication happens. It mainly occurs in 50% of pregnancies. Very few ones get complications or severe symptoms of this.
What is normal placenta positions?
Placenta is a peculiar organ which can be attached anywhere in the uterus where implantation occurs:
- Posterior: Placenta is attached to the posterior wall of the uterus.
- Anterior: Placenta is attached to the anterior wall of the uterus.
- Low segment: Placenta is attached to the lower part of the uterus.
- Fundal: Placenta is attached to the fundus part of the uterus.
- Lateral: Placenta is attached to the right or left side of the uterus wall.
Does anterior placenta change to posterior?
After the implantation of the placenta, it cannot change its position inside the uterus. Once it is attached to the uterus wall, it can’t migrate from there.
Apparent placental migration: As the uterus grows, especially during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, the lower part of the uterus stretches and pulls upward. This makes the placenta that seems low-lying in early pregnancy appear to have moved higher later on.
Complications of anterior placenta
There are chances that having the condition of anterior placenta can cause complications like placenta previa, back pain, or C-section. However, there are fewer chances that the condition of anterior placenta can cause these complications.
1. Placenta previa: In this condition, the placenta moves downward and can cover the opening of the cervix partially or fully, which can lead to heavy menstrual bleeding and increase the chances of further complications.
2. C-section: If anterior placenta causes the condition of placenta previa, then it is mandatory to undergo C-section for the delivery of the baby. Because in placenta previa, the placenta covers the vaginal opening; therefore, vaginal delivery is not preferred in this case.
3. Longer back labor: In the case of anterior placenta, the baby is positioned in OP (occiput posterior) position, which makes the spine of the baby align with the mother’s spine. This causes a longer period of labor pain, specifically at the back.
Diagnosis
It generally cannot be understood by any physical examination or symptoms. An ultrasound is performed around 18 to 21 weeks of the gestational period. In early pregnancy, doctors also perform screening scans such as the NT scan in pregnancy to check the baby’s development and detect possible abnormalities.
Doctor performs an ultrasound to know the size of the baby and can locate the position of the placenta too. But as the size of the uterus increases, the placenta can move a little bit, so the exact position of the placenta is not known before 20 weeks.
Management and treatment
Does this condition “anterior placenta” require any treatment? Usually, this condition doesn’t require any treatment, as anterior placenta rarely leads to any complication. Supportive treatment is only required when you may suffer from these complications (placenta previa, etc.).
Case study 1
A 28 years old female comes to OPD department of the hospital for normal antenatal checkup and with a complaint that she is still not able to feel the fetal quickening at 20 weeks of gestation. Doctor perform the ultrasound to examine fetal heartbeat and fetal movement. During ultrasound, doctor gets to know the position of placenta is anterior therefore this anteriorly placed placenta is absorbing the soft fetal’s kicks.
Doctor advice to wait for 2 more weeks as it is common in case of anterior placenta.
At 22 weeks of gestation, she able to feel kicks of her baby. After completion of 9 months she delivered a healthy baby.
Case study 2
A 29 years old of female come to labor room with complaint of labor pain in lower abdomen and lower back as well. She also got her ultrasounds report which shows she has lower lying anterior placenta.
Therefore doctor immediately go for C- section instead of vaginal delivery.
In this case, placenta is present at lower segment of uterus which it mask the opening of vaginal. Therefore vaginal delivery is not possible otherwise it cause the fetal distress.
Research & Medical Evidence
Medical research shows that the position of the placenta (including anterior placenta) is usually a normal variation in pregnancy and rarely causes complications. An anterior placenta may slightly reduce the strength of fetal movements felt by the mother and can sometimes make early fetal heart detection slightly harder during routine checks, but it generally does not affect the baby’s growth or pregnancy outcome.
A clinical review published in PubMed Central explains that placental location is typically not associated with major pregnancy complications in most women and is considered a normal anatomical variation unless it becomes low-lying or covers the cervix (placenta previa).
Research source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935544/
For patient-focused medical guidance, Cleveland Clinic also states that an anterior placenta is common and usually harmless during pregnancy:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23306-anterior-placenta
These sources provide clinical evidence supporting that anterior placenta is generally a normal and safe placental position during pregnancy.
Frequently Asked Questions on Anterior Placenta
Glossary Terms
- Fundus: it refers to the uppermost dome shaped part of the uterus.
- Placenta previa: placenta is present at lower segment of the uterus and covers the opening of the cervix.
- Apparent placental migration: placenta seems to move upward after 20 week of gestation because of uterus expansation.
- Occiput posterior: it’s a position of baby in uterus where baby’s spine align with mother’s spine and face of baby is facing towards the abdomen of the mother.
A note from Femwise Health:
If you are having anterior placenta, you don’t have to worry; it usually doesn’t affect your pregnancy. There is a very rare chance that you get complications because of anterior placenta. It’s just that you may feel the baby’s movement later than normal. Still, if you feel worried, you can consult your doctor and get to know about the health status of your baby.
