worried gran

[dizzy devil]

i am sure someone on here has had this problem , but it would put my mind at rest if you could help with this ,..my daughter is due to have her second baby in 7 weeks time , she has had 2 scans and is due for another next month,she has been told that the baby is lying on the placenta and from what i understand it could be quite dangerous to baby ,does the placenta move?can it right itself ? now i know i should know these things but when i had my 2 it wasnt a thing that was come across , i dont know of anyone who has had this either , she had a section with the first and i know she may have to have one this time too ,will they take her into hospital to induce labour earlier to make sure alls well, or will they let her go into labour on her own?, this is the part thats bothering me more than anything, i would rather she be taken in before time and be monitored  to make sure  the birth goes ok ,....many thanks ,dizzy 

[ratbag66]

I haven't had this problem myself, but I think from your description that your daughter has 'placent praevia' - the placenta is covering or partially covering the womb entrance. The placenta can't move as such, although it can move away from the womb entrance as the womb grows during the pregnancy taking the placenta with it (many placentas appear to be low-lying early in pregnancy and then 'move' out of the way). As your daughter is now 33 weeks pregnant it is likely that the placenta won't move much further than it's present position and therefore it sounds likely that your daughter will require an elective c-section.  The hospital will probably book her in for her c-section a week or so before her due date, so she will not go into labour naturally first. Your daughter's midwife will be glad to answer any questions she has.

[Gilli]

With both my pregnancies I had to have additional scans to monitor the position of the placenta. With my 1st, 15 years ago, as ratbag states, my womb grew sufficiently to take the placenta with it as it were and I went on to have a natural delivery.

With my second, only 18 months ago (!), at 32 weeks, I was told I would "almost certainly" have to have a C section, but would be scanned again at 36 weeks to be sure. We spent an anxious 4 weeks worrying how we'd cope post operation (we lived in an upper flat at the time & I also had to drive my son to school 7 miles away as there wasn't public transport he could use).

Thank goodness, at 36 weeks things had moved again and I was given the go ahead for a natural labour.

However, fate hadn't finished with me yet .... after 21 hours of labour, seemingly getting nowhere fast, and already "epiduralled" I was wheeled into the operating theatre for a section ...... thinking, why the heck have I just gone through all that anxiety, then relief, then 21 hours of pain, only to end up with a C section after all ....... when, at the very last minute, my daughter decided to put in an appearance all of a sudden and was, finally, born naturally .... albeit in the glaring lights, with loads of people milling about - though my lovely midwife did tell them to get out when I objected, and on an extremely narrow operating trolley with me flat on my back !!!!

Sorry for going on - but things can turn out the way you don't expect them to.

As an aside, my partner was most peeved to find that the sex ban we'd been told to observe during the time the placenta was very low had all been in vain !!

More seriously, I was told (when I still "had" a low lying placenta that I would be induced at about 38 weeks to hopefully pre-empt going into labour naturally. If I had gone into labour before that time, I was to get myself to hospital double quick !

[thikasabrik]

I had placenta praevia with my first pregnancy. I had strong feelings about natural childbirth so I was allowed a trial labour (not induced) and ended up having an emergency caesarian. With my 2nd pregnancy I again had placenta praevia and this time the placenta was completely covering the opening and there was no way I could give birth naturally. I had an elective caesarian at 36 weeks. I was told that in the last few weeks of pregnancy the placenta is not likely to move.

At the end of the day the health of the mother and baby is the main priority and I would advise your daughter to be guided by the obstetrician. I could have lost my first baby by being stubborn about wanting a natural birth. (For the record, although I had my 2nd baby 4 weeks early, he was a strapping 9lb!!)

[dizzy devil]

thankyou all for  your replies, it seems as tho she will have to go in early and have this c section , and the placenta  praevia was the word i was looking for but for the life of me couldnt remember,as long as both come out ok at the end of the day i will be relieved, again thanyou for taking the time to reply,...dizz