What happens if placenta is down

The position of your placenta will be recorded at your to week ultrasound scan. If your placenta is significantly low, you'll be offered an extra ultrasound scan later in your pregnancy usually at about 32 weeks to check its position again.

For 9 in every 10 women, the placenta will have moved into the upper part of the womb by this point. If the placenta is still low in your womb, there's a higher chance that you could bleed during your pregnancy or during your baby's birth. This bleeding can be very heavy and put you and your baby at risk.

You may be advised to come into hospital at the end of your pregnancy so emergency treatment such as a blood transfusion can be given very quickly if you bleed. If the placenta is near or covering the cervix, your baby can't be delivered through the vagina, so a caesarean section will be recommended.

A low-lying placenta can be associated with painless, bright red bleeding from the vagina during the last 3 months of pregnancy. If this happens to you, contact your midwife or GP immediately. Placenta previa: Epidemiology, clinical feature, diagnosis, morbidity and mortality. Accessed April 28, Frequently asked questions.

Pregnancy FAQ Bleeding during pregnancy. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Lockwood CJ, et al. Placenta previa: Management. Ferri FF. Placenta previa. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Elsevier; Merck Manual Professional Version. As the uterus grows upwards, the placenta is likely to move away from the cervix. Your midwife will check for this during an extra scan at 32 weeks RCOG, a.

At that scan, if the placenta has moved to 2cm or more from the inside of the cervix, then you can choose a vaginal birth RCOG, a. Only one in 10 women who have a low-lying placenta will develop placenta praevia RCOG, a. When the placenta covers part or all of the cervix in the last months of pregnancy, it is called placenta praevia. It happens in around one in pregnancies Sekiguchi et al, Placenta praevia can be major or minor: a major placenta praevia covers the entire cervix, and a minor placenta praevia covers only a part of it RCOG, b.

This depends on whether it is located on the front anterior or posterior back wall of the uterus Jang et al, With placenta praevia, there is a chance of bleeding in the second half of pregnancy.

The stretching puts the connection between the placenta and the wall of the uterus under strain. The bleeding can be heavy and in rare cases risky for your baby.

The chance of bleeding is higher if the placenta is on the front wall of the uterus Jang et al, This will make sure the baby is born safely RCOG, , a.

There is also a higher chance of the baby being born prematurely before 37 weeks and poorly, as a result of placenta praevia Sekiguchi et al, Your ultrasound scan will usually be able to detect whether you have placenta praevia Bhinde et al, You might also be suspected of having placenta praevia if you have bleeding in the second half of the pregnancy RCOG, a.

Specific symptoms may include:. Pregnant people who are smokers, who are older than 35, or who are of Asian descent are also at higher risk of developing placenta previa.

Usually, the first signs of placenta previa will show up during the routine week ultrasound. These initial signs are not necessarily a cause for worry, since the placenta is often lower in the uterus during the early part of a pregnancy. The placenta usually corrects itself. According to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists , only 10 percent of people with low-lying placenta at 20 weeks will have a low-lying placenta at their next ultrasound.

If you experience any bleeding in the second half of your pregnancy, doctors will monitor the position of the placenta using one of these preferred methods:. For cases of placenta previa with minimal or no bleeding, your doctor will likely suggest pelvic rest. This means refraining from putting anything into your vagina during pregnancy in order to prevent medical complications.

If bleeding occurs during this time, you should seek medical care as soon as possible. If the C-section needs to be scheduled sooner, your baby may be given corticosteroid injections to speed up their lung growth.

During labor, the cervix will open to allow the baby to move into the vaginal canal for birth. If the placenta is in front of the cervix, it will begin to separate as the cervix opens, causing internal bleeding. This can necessitate an emergency C-section, even if the baby is premature, as the pregnant person could bleed to death if no action is taken. Vaginal birth also poses too many risks for the pregnant person, who could experience severe hemorrhaging during labor , delivery, or after the first few hours of delivery.