The human body is so wonderfully designed that at any stage, if you take care of your body, all your organs should function like clockwork. During pregnancy, to sustain the life inside you, your body will grow a new organ to anticipate what the baby in your womb will need for the next 36 weeks or so.
Your baby will start laying down the foundations for a yolk sac, an amniotic sac, and the placenta at around the 4th week of pregnancy. The placenta and these new organs will become the main source of sustenance of the baby while inside your womb.
The placenta connects the baby and the mother through the umbilical cord. Aside from food you eat, the umbilical cord delivers oxygen, hormones, and immune protection to your baby. That said, naturally the placenta is situated near or beside your baby. Sometimes, however, the placenta’s position may prove to be problematic, or less than ideal.
The placenta may be situated at the top of the uterus (fundal), on the left or right side of the uterus (lateral), the back of the uterus (posterior), in front of the uterus (anterior), or at the bottom (low-lying).
If you have an anterior placenta, here’s what you should know:
It is less common.
The most common position of the placenta is the top or the back of the uterus, according to Verwellfamily.com. If you have an anterior placenta, there should not be any problem with that.
Your doctor may have a hard time finding baby’s heartbeat.
Being anterior, the placenta becomes an additional layer between your belly and the baby, thus, in the early stages of pregnancy, it may take longer than usual to detect the baby’s heartbeat.
Your baby’s kicks may feel weak.
Pregnant women whose placenta are located at the back of the uterus will feel their baby’s kicks earlier in the pregnancy, unlike those with an anterior placenta. To them, baby’s kick may feel more like a muffled thump. But of course, as the baby grows bigger, the kicks will get stronger.
Complications of an anterior placenta
In rare cases, the anterior placenta may also be low-lying. It may pose a challenge if you are giving birth via C-section, as it may block the area where the incision should be made. Nonetheless, an ultrasound can tell your doctor the position of the placenta so she can deliver the baby without a hitch.
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