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Low-lying placenta

LMMH09LMMH09 member
in Natural Birth

Hi everyone.  I had my anatomy scan ultasound on Tuesday (it's a boy! yay!) and they told me that my placenta is lying low and in between the baby and my cervix.  They said that if it didn't move then I would have to have a c-section which is very upsetting to me since I am planning a natural birth.  My midwife said that a lot of the time the placenta moves and that I will just need to have another ultrasound in the 3rd Trimester to see if it has.  Does anyone know how often the placenta does end up moving?  Has this happened to anyone else?  Is there anything else I can do?  TIA!

 

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Re: Low-lying placenta

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    capitalBcapitalB
    They told me the same thing, but my MW told me not to worry because the placenta almost always moves up during the 3rd tri. In my case, they were right and I was able to have a vaginal birth. Good luck.
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    cheerleader.08cheerleader.08 member
    When I had my ultrasound, mine was low as well.  The tech really scared me because she made it sound like it was a bad thing.  Then when I asked my doctor, he said well, of course it is low, you are only 20 weeks (or whatever I was).  He said as my uterus grew, so would the placenta go up with it.  He thought it was no big deal.  I don't know what that means about yours being between the baby and your cervix,  Are they concerned about it not moving up because of the baby's position?  I wish the best for you, and I hope your next ultrasound shows it where it needs to be.
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    LMMH09LMMH09 member
    Thanks for the input guys!  They didn't really go into detail about it so that is why I thought I would ask here.  My MW didn't seem worried about it but she just said it "usually" moves up so I was wondering how often it really does.
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    papagenapapagena member
    With DS I had placenta previa (covering, for me, part of the cervix).  We did a followup u/s at 30-some weeks and it had, indeed, moved up and was no longer an issue.  Most cases do!!
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    ckolak:-)ckolak:-)
    They told me the same thing with DS. My placenta moved up, no worries. The doctor consulting on the u/s told me that the placenta nearly always moves up.
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    nosoup4unosoup4u member

    imageLMMH09:
    Thanks for the input guys!  They didn't really go into detail about it so that is why I thought I would ask here.  My MW didn't seem worried about it but she just said it "usually" moves up so I was wondering how often it really does.

    I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure in cases where it's low-lying (and not true placenta previa), the placenta moves something like 90% of the time? I had a low-lying placenta for my first pregnancy at 20ish weeks, and it had moved by 32 to give me the all-clear for vaginal birth. Also, you can request u/s up to the very end if it's slow in moving up your uterus. hth

    DS1 - Feb 2008

    DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)

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    LMMH09LMMH09 member
    Great! Thank you so much guys! I feel much better now :)
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    duncanpowersduncanpowers
    The base of your uterus expands as the baby grows, so while your placenta doesn't move per se, the area below it keeps growing. So unless it's complete previa, ie firmly rooted directly over your cervix, which does not change shape unlike your uterus, it will most likely not be a problem later. Mine took until 34 weeks to reach the recommended 3 cm clearance, but it did get there :) just be patient and try not to freak :)
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