The placenta is an important organ of a pregnant woman, which is formed and exists throughout the entire period of fetal growth. After the birth of a newborn, the child's place is rejected. This unique temporary organ connects the mother and the baby during pregnancy. It is thanks to the placenta that the baby receives the necessary nutrients.
A child's place, like any living organism, is formed, matures and ages. Each of these physiological processes must occur in due time. In this case, the pregnancy will proceed successfully, and the baby will be healthy. If the expectant mother wants to know what, for example, should be the degree of maturity of the placenta at 33 weeks of pregnancy, she should use a special table with normative indicators. Such a scheme will be given in the article below. Thanks to her, you can find out if the child's place is developing correctly.
When is the placenta formed?
The word placenta in Latin means “flat cake”. This body was named so because of its disc-shaped flattened shape.
About the tenth day after conception, the cells, the purpose of which is to provide a connection between the mother and the fetus, begin to actively divide. As a result of this, special enzymes are produced. Their task is to create favorable conditions in the uterine cavity for the subsequent possibility of saturating the baby with nutrients from the mother’s body. After this, a constant blood circulation is formed between the pregnant woman and the baby. The growth of the placenta becomes so active that the size of this organ in the initial stages even exceeds the size of the embryo.
Then there is a constant increase in mass and the growth of the villous tree of a child's place. The branching of blood vessels continues due to the separation of each of their processes into several new ones. Such a temporary body completes the growth process almost before the birth itself. The correct development of the child's place is characterized by such an indicator as the
degree of maturity of the placenta by week. A table with an appropriate description of the characteristics will be presented below.
What is the placenta for?
The main objective of the placenta is to ensure the life of the fetus during the entire period of pregnancy. The child's place performs the following important functions:
- provides immunological protection of the fetus, passing the necessary antibodies of the pregnant woman to the baby, but at the same time it holds certain cells of the mother’s immune system, which could trigger the embryo rejection mechanism, taking it for a foreign object;
- removes toxins;
- protects the baby from the negative effects of the environment, the harmful effects of bacteria and viruses;
- performs the functions of the endocrine gland, synthesizing certain hormones that are necessary for a successful pregnancy;
- supplies the fetus with oxygen and removes the resulting carbon dioxide;
- delivers nutrients to the child and helps get rid of waste products.
The condition of the placenta has an extremely important effect on the condition of the baby and on the process of pregnancy in general. To maintain the health of this body, you need to protect it from the harmful effects of a different nature. For example, it is recommended to avoid crowds of a large number of people, because even commonplace SARS or ARI can be dangerous. The expectant mother should not smoke. If a woman has sexually transmitted infections, they must be disposed of.
Standard placenta thickness
From the very beginning of pregnancy, the placenta is actively growing and developing. By 16-18 weeks, this organ becomes fully functional. The thickness of the child's place slightly increases day by day. This indicator reaches its maximum by 34 weeks. If the pregnancy proceeds safely, then after a couple of weeks the growth and increase in the thickness of the placenta stops, and sometimes even decline.
This indicator characterizing the state of the child's place can be determined exclusively by ultrasound diagnostics. The area with the greatest thickness should be measured.
If the thickness of the child’s place at a specific gestational age does not meet the normative indicators, then the functioning of this body is impaired. In this case, the child may suffer.
Another indicator with which you can assess the condition of the child's place is the degree of maturity of the placenta by week. A table with regulatory values will help to correctly assess the situation. And now we will consider cases when the thickness of the child's place differs from the standard.
If the thickness of the placenta is more than normal
The cause of excessive thickening of the placenta in a pregnant woman may be anemia, preeclampsia, Rh conflict, and diabetes mellitus. Infectious diseases also have a negative effect on the condition of the child's place. Moreover, the danger exists even in the case when the expectant mother is simply a carrier of bacteria. If a pregnant woman smokes, consumes alcohol or drugs, then the thickness of her placenta can also be increased.
The pace of aging of a child’s place with such a pathology is accelerated, which means that this body copes with its functions insufficiently effectively. If the placenta is thickened, it swells, the structure of its walls becomes different, there is a violation of the hormonal background. The result of such changes is the insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to the child. This can cause a delay in the intrauterine development of the baby, hypoxia, premature birth or even fetal death.
Based on the results of ultrasound diagnostics, dopplerography or cardiotocography, the doctor prescribes to a pregnant woman with a thickened child's seat drugs that stimulate uteroplacental exchange and support the normal development of the baby. If the condition of the fetus does not inspire concern, the doctor may confine himself to closer monitoring of the expectant mother.
If the thickness of the placenta is less than normal
A thin placenta may indicate a child’s hypoplasia. This is the condition when this body is not sufficiently developed and is not able to cope effectively with its functions.
Excessive reduction in the thickness of the placenta can be either a feature of the pregnant constitution (most often this happens in women of small physique), and can be a consequence of several other reasons. For example, such a pathology can occur after the expectant mother suffered an infectious disease. Hypertension, hemolytic disease or atherosclerosis can also affect.
If the insufficient thickness of the placenta is a consequence of some disease of the expectant mother, an increase in this indicator can be affected by curing the corresponding disease. In other cases, the doctor uses drug therapy aimed at minimizing the possible negative consequences of the development of the child.
It is time to consider such an important indicator as the maturity of the placenta.
What is placental maturity?
The maturation of the placenta is a natural process that accompanies the growth of this organ. The development of the child's place takes place in such a way that it can fully and timely meet the needs of the fetus.
The degree of maturity of a child's place is the most important indicator. With its help, you can assess the condition of the placental complex. Also, this characteristic helps in time to identify pathological changes in the structure of the child's place, which can have a negative effect on the fetus.
If pregnancy proceeds normally, then during its period the placenta passes through 4 degrees of maturity. A detailed description of each of them follows.
The degree of maturity of the placenta by week (table)
There are 4 degrees of maturity of a child's place. Each of them corresponds to a certain period of development of this organ.
The following is a summary diagram describing each degree of placental maturity by week. The table contains the characteristics of the structure of the child's place and chorionic tissue at different stages of pregnancy.
Placental maturity | Normative gestational age | Placenta structure | Characterization of chorionic tissue adjacent to the fetus | The presence of calcium deposits |
Zero | 30 week each | Homogeneous | Smooth and even | Practically absent |
First | From 27 to 36 weeks | Small number of seals available | Separate echogenic inclusions are present. The chorion plate becomes wavy | Are available in small quantities |
Second | From 34 to 39 weeks | A large number of pronounced seals | There are small echogenic inclusions in large quantities. The chorion plate becomes even more undulating | Distinct areas present |
Third | After 36 weeks | Perhaps the presence of cysts | The waviness of the chorion plate is pronounced. The placenta has a lobed structure | Abound |
The table shows that the zero degree of maturity of the placenta at 30 weeks is an indicator that is within normal limits. If the doctor, after examining the expectant mother, estimated the growing up of the child’s place just like that, then the pregnancy is going well.
Detailed description of each degree of placental maturity
The next stage of placenta maturation normally lasts from 27 to 36 weeks of gestation. During this period, the size of the child's place stops growing, but its thickness is gradually increasing. The first degree of placental maturity at 34 weeks is a good indicator. Although at such a time after visiting the doctor, there is an opportunity to find out that the growth of the child's place has reached the second level. And that too will be the norm.
From 34 weeks, the most calm and stable stage of growing up of a child’s place begins. The second degree of placental maturity at 39 weeks is a boundary indicator. After this period, the development of the interim body should move to the third level. If such a transition occurs earlier than the specified time, do not worry. Most often, there is no cause for alarm in this case.
Next comes the third degree of maturity of the placenta. At 36 weeks and later, the child's place enters the final phase of its development. During this period, biological aging of the temporary organ occurs. It is accompanied by a reduction in the exchange area of the placenta and the appearance of a large number of sites of calcium deposits.
If the child's place is ahead of the norm of its development or, conversely, lags behind it, the development of pathologies is possible. Such situations are discussed below.
Untimely development of the placenta
One of the problems associated with a children's place may be its premature maturation. Such a pathology can be discussed if the 2nd degree of maturity of the placenta at 32 weeks of gestation has already arrived. In this case, the condition of the fetus must be carefully monitored. After all, this situation indicates placental insufficiency. This common case will be discussed in more detail below.
Another problem that occurs somewhat less frequently than the previous one is the late maturation of the child's place. Most often, this pathology is characteristic in the case when there are congenital malformations of the fetus. Additional risk factors are the illness of the future mother with diabetes mellitus, Rhesus conflict, or the presence in the pregnant woman of such bad habits as smoking or drinking alcohol. If there is a delay in the maturation of the placenta, then the degree of risk of giving birth to a dead baby increases.
Premature maturation of the placenta
Such development is considered premature when a second degree of placental maturity occurs at 32 weeks of gestation and earlier.
The causes of this pathology are as follows:
- preeclampsia;
- disturbed hormonal background;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system or diabetes in a pregnant woman;
- the presence of pathogens of infectious diseases;
- hypertension in the expectant mother;
- multiple pregnancy;
- excess calcium in the body of a woman;
- placenta previa or detachment;
- rhesus conflict;
- the use of pregnant alcohol, nicotine, drugs.
It is also considered premature to mature when the third degree of placental maturity occurs before 36 weeks of gestation. However, in itself, the early aging of a child's place is not an immediate threat to the health or life of the fetus. Such a pathology is dangerous in the case when the doctor, after examining the pregnant woman, revealed violations that could lead to negative consequences. This may be fetal hypoxia, its intrauterine growth retardation, the risk of premature birth.
Doctors should verify the presence of pathology using other diagnostic methods. If the fears are confirmed, then the pregnant woman is prescribed the appropriate treatment, in some cases even inpatient.
Conclusion
The most important indicator of the condition of the placenta is its degree of maturity. This characteristic makes it possible to evaluate both physiological and pathological changes in the temporary organ. Using the special table given in the article, the expectant mother can find out the appropriate degree of placental maturity for a specific gestational age. Week 31, for example, should be characterized by the first level of development of the child's place.
If the diagnostic results are only slightly different from the normative indicators, do not worry. Trust your doctor. He will conduct additional studies, assess the condition of the fetus and, if necessary, prescribe the appropriate treatment.