low lying anterior placenta

[dee dee]

I recently had my ultrasound at 20 weeks, and after discussing the results with my OB I discovered I have a low lying placenta which is only 14mm away from the opening of my cervix.

I was assured that there is still plenty of time for my uterus to stretch, moving the placenta away from the os etc etc and will be having more ultrasounds later in my pregnancy to check the position of my placenta.

My dd was born by c section and this baby will be too, so it was no big drama for me to know that if my placenta is still very low lying I will have to have a caesar anyway. My problem is this: I googled low lying anterior placentas and have now scared myself witless!!!!:eek: There are some horrible sites and articles that I found and then read that the fact that I have already had a caesar makes me more likely to develop further complications such as placenta accreta. I wish I never googled, now I am even more worried than before. One article I read even gave me nightmares.

I am trying to remain positive, and have heard that there is a 90% that by the end of my pregnancy I will no longer have a low lying placenta:fingerscrossed:

Any stories of anyone in a silmilar position, and what was the outcome for you?

Oh and yeah, please, please don't scare me anymore.

[Oscar's mum]

I didn't have a low lying placenta at the 20 week scan but come 24 weeks the placenta was low and causing bleeding but at 34 weeks the placenta had moved completly out of the way and the bleeding had stopped too;)

Good luck and I hope your placenta moves too:fingerscrossed:

[Worm'sMum]

I also had a low lying placenta with DD and by 34 wks it had moved, and all was good. I ended up having to have an emergency ceasar anyway, but nothing to do with my placenta. I've heard low lying placenta's are quite common on the 20 week u/s and most do move. Good luck with it all and try not to read too many more horror stories. I know it's good to be informed, but sometimes the less stress you can put on yourself the better.:hugs: For a worry free rest of your pregnancy and birth!

[tickle]

In all honesty, wait until your later scan before getting too worried about it. If it is still low then, I would definately research all the ins and outs. Even though it is scary it is better to know about what could go wrong, just incase it does. It definately helped me.
When I found out I had previa I kept saying I should stop researching as it scared the cr@p out of me. Things didn't go as planned for me, but knowing all the ins and outs of it really helped me keep my head screwed on at the time.
I don't have a good story (so I won't tell it to you;) ), but even if it turns out you have previa you are more likely to have an absolutely perfect outcome than a not so perfect one.
I'm sure it will be fine.:thumbsup:

[dee dee]

well that's two positive stories so far, thank you for the reassurance. I know that knowlege is power but I plan to keep away from google for awhile!

[Oscar's mum]

but I plan to keep away from google for awhile!

Wise decision;)

[dee dee]

oops Tickle, we must have posted at the same time. You are right though, I should just relax for now until my next ultrasound. With any luck things might sort themselves out by then.

And by the way thankyou for not scaring me:)

[tickle]

No worries. The stats are on your side for it to move, most definately.:thumbsup:

[Jenko]

I have a low lying posterior placenta according to my 19 week scan. I'm going for my next scan next tuesday (34 weeks) so i will let you know how i go.

I googled too and got a bit worried, but then i realised the majority of them do move up so it wasn't worth worrying about till i knew for sure. I haven't had any bleeding or spotting either, so i hope that means it's moved north.

It's a good sign that your placenta is close to os, but not covering. This gives you an even better chance of it moving up. Hope it all works out for both of us. :fingerscrossed:

[FourAngelKisses]

I had a low lying placenta with my first baby on my 20wk scan, by 30wks it had moved up quite high. :yes:

[Sheer Bliss]

A friend had this too at her 20week scan, and at her 34week scan all was good!
She was also told that because there had been such a small gap between her last c-section & this pregnancy (bubs was 6months when she fell pregnant) there was a higher chance of placenta accreta occuring. But everything went perfectly well - she had a great recovery from her second c-section & now is having the fun of looking after her 4month old bubs & 3 others!
Somtimes too much knowledge can be a bad thing. :hugs:

[Bron]

Oh dee dee!! Google can be your best friend and your worst enemy all at once!! :hugs:

I don't have a story to share, but I am sending your placenta lots of "move upwards kiddo" vibes.

[FourAngelKisses]

Google is evil like ebay. :laughing:

[TinyStar]

I had this happen to me too, my placenta was lying across my cervix at the 20 week scan and I too scared the cr@pola out of myself with google.

I bought ambulance insurance just in case I needed to get to hospy quick smart, and told a close friend so she could help me out by looking after my DD just in case.

By the 34 week scan Mr Placenta had moved (which made me happy cos I wanted a VBAC)

so come full term, had a pretty normal labour, gave birth the way nature intended. Fed my new son, no placenta. Was given sintocin drip, no placenta. Loads of blood but no placenta. Hello Placenta accretea.

So after one hour of vainly pushing out blood clots instaed of a placenta, I was given a spinal and sent off to theatre for manual placenta removal. noice.

I sort of dozed on the operating table listening to the music (Jeff Buckley will NEVER be the same again) DH got to spend quality time with his son.

The only hassle was being made to leave the catheter and drip thingy for 36 hours, and the major bummer of having a vbac then having to do the whole surgery thing that I had wanted to avoid.

So there, long winded but I think thats what you wanted to hear huh?

Best of luck, the odds are on your side:thumbsup:

[Wondermum]

Hi dee dee,

My placenta was low lying and in the anterior position also with my last baby. I was stressed from my scan at 19 weeks through to 37 weeks when finally I got the all clear that it had stretched 6cm away from the OS.

One concern with anterior placenta and c/s sometimes is the placental proximity to the area of the c/s incision. You will not be able to tell until very late in your pregnancy re: the final location of your placenta and if it's location will pose any difficulty with a normal c/s incision. Try not to stress at this stage as there is nothing you can do to help the situation other than taking it easy and having regular follow ups and ultrasounds. In the later stages ask your care provider lots of questions.

All the best for the remainder of your pregnancy ;) I'm sure everything will work out fine for you in the end.

[Strawberry_Shortcake]

I had a low lying placenta at my 20wk scan, by 32wks it had moved up. I wouldn't stress about it, my middie told me not to worry about as most low lying placentas move up by 30 weeks. All the best.

[mim1]

My SIL had a low lying placenta on 20 week scan, but it moved up out of the way. They did have trouble getting the placenta out after my nephew was born, but it had nothing to do with the fact that it had been low lying. They were scared cause the placenta could be even worse in subsequent pregnancies, but no, the placenta came out perfectly with her 2nd pregnancy. The reality is that most low lying placentas move up and placenta accreta (difficult to get out placenta) is really pretty rare under any circumstances and not worth worrying about. :hugs:

[dee dee]

Thankyou so much for all the good wishes and for sharing your stories. It seems that the odds are in my favour for things turning out ok, so:fingerscrossed:

Not that I won't still be worried until my next ultrasound, but hey that's just me.

thanks again,
dee dee

[dee dee]

yay!!!!! good news, I am so excited. I went for an ultrasound yesterday, and my placenta has well and truly moved out of the way:thumbsup:
It was great to be able to say hello to peanut again aswell.

[Bron]

:yelclap: Good news dee dee!!!

Nice work Mr Placenta! :yelclap:

[FourAngelKisses]

That's great news!!