Anterior, low-lying placenta

[Chubbstep]

Hello, looking for a bit of advice / reassurance really.We just had our 20 week scan and found that my placenta is anterior and low lying - i think it's currently covering my cervix. There's also a possible bleed/placenta 'lake' quite close to my cervix too so I'm supposed to watch out for pain and/or bleeding.

She said that the placenta placement is common and in 90% of cases it grows out the way which is reassuring but if it doesn't then I won't be allowed to go into labour and will have a section at 36-37 weeks.

Google says that anterior & low placentas are more common in people who have went through fertility treatment. I suppose I'm wondering if there's anyone else going/gone through this & what the outcomes were. Was there anything you did that helped move the placenta? I don't care how baby gets here as long as they're safe & healthy but I am a bit sad I might not get to experience labour.

What kind of pain am I watching out for? I seem to be having random cramps, pulling, aches and round the belly pains all the time so I'm a bit worried that I'll miss something thinking it'll be normal...

Thank you for reading!

[JA-fnuk Partner]

Hope you get some replies to your post .Hard to do but try not to disappear down the Google rabbit hole The good thing is that it will be closely observed and it may sort it's self out as the pregnancy continues The discomfort you mention could be due to stretching due to womb getting bigger Speak to your m/wife about your concerns

Take care

Janet-Partner

[Chubbstep in reply to JA-fnuk]

Thanks for the advice Janet - I've been very good avoiding Google so far I think I just started over thinking everything 😅

[Millbanks]

Hi lovely,

My placenta was covering my cervix throughout my pregnancy and in the last 3 /4 weeks it moved away. It didn't matter to me as I was having a planned c-section anyway - but it would have been fine for vaginal birth.

I had a subchorionic haematoma too (which sounds a bit like your placenta lake - it's a bruise inside the uterus but outside the baby's sac) I had 3 weeks of bleeding but eventually it stopped and there was no harm caused.

I also had a lot of pain / cramps and pulling around that 20 week mark - it tends to be when your uterus is stretching and you start seeing a bump - often round ligament pain too.

I wouldn't worry too much unless you get some bleeding. Mine started as a light brown and got darker and obviously I freaked out but all was ok.

xxx

[Chubbstep in reply to Millbanks]

Hi millbanks thanks very much for the reply. That's made me feel a whole lot calmer. Weird to think it might be able to grow out the way 😅 I'm sure everything I've felt so far has been normal so I suppose I'll just look out for anything extra or bleeding. Nice to know others have experienced the same! X

[Asha82]

Hi, I went through ivf and I'm now 25 weeks and 3 days pregnant and my placenta is facing the back and not low lying, I'm not sure if you wanted to know every experience of where the placenta is after ivf, also I've been having lots of round ligament pains and pulling since I was 17 weeks pregnant

[Chubbstep in reply to Asha82]

Hi asha thanks for replying - I was more looking for people in the same placenta situation but good to hear I'm not alone with the ligament pains!

[Asha82 in reply to Chubbstep]

Ok no worries

[Fruitandflowers]

In my IVF pregnancy I had a low lying anterior placenta. I was told that if they're anterior/at the front, they nearly all move up as the womb grows or even right before birth. I had extra scans and mine had moved up miles by the time I got to near term. My SIL had a natural pregnancy and hers moved the week before she gave birth, so think it's just chance. I have a posterior placenta this time (naturally conceived) and it's also low lying (covering cervix) and have been told it's much less likely to move on the back wall, but planning for a c-section. On the pains, I didn't have any bleeding or issues like that, but the round ligament pain took my breath away it was so sudden and severe - often had to go on all fours and wait for it to pass. It's a bit like a pulled muscle down the sides of the lower part of the bump for me. This time it's mainly on one side which seems a bit weird, bit I know exactly what it is this time so it doesn't freak me out as much.

[Chubbstep in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Thanks for this mrsorangejuice - that's really made me feel calmer about it all. It does seem to be a lot more common than I thought. It's freaky to think about it moving around! My pains haven't had me on all fours yet but they can be quite severe and take my breath away too - I really didn't expect that! Sneezing and sitting up can be awful 😅 I suppose it's nice to know I'm not alone!

[Fruitandflowers in reply to Chubbstep]

They told me to think about it like a balloon expanding and as it does so the placenta goes with it, rather than the placenta itself moving (it's hopefully very firmly attached 😀). Sneezing and coughing are painful, and if I stay in one position too long - especially on my very old worn out couch - it can take a long time for the pain to subside trying to get up. The other thing I noticed (and worried about) was first time I didn't feel any movements until about 24 weeks apparently that's normal with an anterior placenta, especially first pregnancy. Whereas this time I've felt movements pretty consistently from 14 weeks. But even first time once the baby was big enough I could feel and see the kicks and punches, and the image of them rolling over while I was in the bath was like something out of an alien movie, so anterior placenta clearly didn't make any difference there x

[Chubbstep in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Ahh ha that makes sense rather than it moving itself ok that feels less weird 😅 and that's really good to hear even with anterior you could still eventually see them moving around I was a bit sad there that my OH wouldn't get to feel them and get that kind of connection - even if it might be like Alien! Maybe I just need to be a bit more patient 😅 thank you 😊 x

[Boo718]

hi I had this. It moved up before birth, my little girl was ten days late. The placenta means that you won’t feel as many movements as it’s at the front. So I didn’t feel movements until 24 weeks and even then they were light. My little girl is healthy and fine xxx

[Chubbstep in reply to Boo718]

Hi Boo thanks so much for replying. I'm glad it seems to be as common as they say and it might move that's good to hear & even better to hear you have a healthy baby 🥰 I have been feeling them move already but it does seem to be quite deep inside. were you ever able to feel movements on the outside of your tummy maybe later in your pregnancy? I'm now thinking that dad might not be able to feel any kicking if it's covering the front? Xx

[Boo718 in reply to Chubbstep]

Hiya I felt kicking on the outside but it was much later on in the pregnancy so daddy did manage to feel it. I was pushing the 30 week mark by this point xxx it’s definitely not as sharp a feelings xxx

[Chubbstep in reply to Boo718]

Ah OK so maybe possible later on 🥰 thank you so much!

[Bexarama83]

I had low lying placenta at 20 wks and it had moved by 34 weeks. All was fine for me and had a natural delivery. Also happened to my friend and hers also moved but a bit later at around 38 weeks. Most of them so move once the uterus grows. Good luck for the remaining pregnancy 🥰 xx ps. Mine was also anterior but I felt movements very early at 14 weeks and then all through until she was born. She was a little wriggler and still is at 8 weeks old! So anterior doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t feel movements.

[Chubbstep in reply to Bexarama83]

Thanks for your reply bexarama that's really good to hear. I'm glad to hear it could still move later- it doesn't sound like I'll get the chance to wait and see if it moves as late as 38 weeks but hopefully mine will move early 🙃 so weird! Xx

[Weareback2]

I have had placenta previa with both my pregnancies which means the placenta is covering the exit and needed sections. Both of mine are ivf pregnancies. With my first it hardley moved. I got a scans at weeks/34/38 weeks and was booked in for a section at 38w4. I did loose alot of blood in theatre. However i can honestly it is was well managed and i didn't know until they were telling me after. With my placenta being so low this was always on the cards so they had blood prepared for me should i of needed a blood transfusion.With my second when i went in for my pre op appointment for my section on the friday, i was getting my section first thing on monday and they just decided to do a extra scan just to check exactly where it was. It had actually moved enough for me to gove birth naturally if i wanted to but given that i had the section booked in for the monday i just went with that. So glad i did though as in theatre they saw scarring internally, and they said that i probably would have ended up needed a section anyway due to this, but obviously they can't see internally until they are inside you.

I have had 2 planned sections, one was very straighforward and no issues other than the blood loss but i couldn't see a thing so was fine. Second section was more complicated, took over an hour to put me back together and had horrifc bruising and i was re-admitted a few times after due to really high blood pressure. However honestly overall both were fine.

I too have read that placenta being low can be common in ovf pregnancies. They will keep an eye on you and obviously any bleeding just go straight to the hospital. All the best of luck.

[Chubbstep in reply to Weareback2]

Thanks for replying weareback - so good to hear from all sorts of stories. I was wondering about scarring and second pregnancies and things too so that's good to consider too. I think they were talking about booking me in for extra scans so that's great to hear about you feeling looked after. I guess there's not much I can do and just need to wait and see how it goes!!

[Kitkat10]

hi, I had a low lying posterior placenta at 20 weeks and at the time I read that this happens in 1 in 20 women but only very few don’t grow out of the way. By 32 weeks, mine had grown away from the cervix as the uterus had expanded. Good luck with everything going forward, I hope it is smooth. I know how you feel about a vaginal delivery but once the baby is here, you honestly won’t care how they got here. I had a forceps delivery, lots of bruising and bleeding from the episiotomy and a real battle with incontinence postnatally as a result - so if they offered me a c-section with my second, I’ll go for it and save on the incontinence pants 😂

[Chubbstep in reply to Kitkat10]

Hi kitkat thanks so much for the reply it's so interesting to hear real people's different stories! Also lovely to hear yours managed to move out the way even though the birth sounded a bit difficult 😅 I'm now quite calm about thinking about a section and you're right as long as baby gets here safely I don't care how it happens. Actually having a planned section sounds a bit calmer and more relaxed than an emergency one so having the 2 possible plans feels quite nice 🥰

[lianm8]

this happened to me at my 20 week scan I had a scan at 30ish weeks (can’t remember exactly) to check it’s location and it had moved to where it was supposed to be

[Chubbstep in reply to lianm8]

Ah thank you lianm- it's lovely to hear that it does sound quite common & also that a lot of peoples moved out the way too that's really reassured me that there's still a bit of a chance of labour. I think I'm being scanned at 28 & 32 weeks so hopefully that's loads of time 😊

[lianm8 in reply to Chubbstep]

They thought I had placenta accreta and it scared me till my following scan when they said it had moved. I am sure you’ll be just fine and it will move 🤞 xx

[Chubbstep in reply to lianm8]

Thanks for your replies and well wishes! Here's hoping!! X

[Chubbstep]

Just in case anyone finds this post & wants to hear what happened - I thought I'd give an update. By 32 week scan baby had turned head down and the placenta had moved properly out the way of my cervix. I don't think I did anything unusual to help this but I do do a tiny 10 min yoga youtube video every week night before bed 😅 Thank you to everyone for their reassurance on this post!!