The importance of this body is difficult to describe in words. The placenta assumes the role of the kidneys, liver, lungs and intestines, which the fetus does not yet have. It exists only 9 months, but during this period makes an invaluable contribution to the development of all the organs and systems of the baby.
The degree of maturity of the placenta by week is an important factor affecting the course of the entire pregnancy. As the "older" it becomes, the less functional load it can endure. For example, if the uzi has determined the 0th maturity of the placenta, then this is a sign of its ability to grow and meet all the needs of the fetal organism.
How is the degree of maturity of the placenta determined?
Intrauterine evaluation of the placental organ is performed by ultrasound, carried out at different stages of pregnancy. Depending on the stage of maturity of the placenta, the specialist notes on the screen of the device all the structural changes that occur in it. Histological examination can be carried out only after the completion of the process of delivery.
How many degrees of maturity of the placenta?
In medical practice, there is a definition of only four age levels of the placental organ, having certain standards in accordance with the period of gestation. So:
- 0-th degree is characteristic before the 30th week. However, now doctors have noted a reduction in this range already at earlier times.
- In the third trimester of pregnancy, the placenta begins to become obsolete and thicken. This happens after 30 weeks and the processes remain stable until the 34th week. The presence of a degree of maturity of the placenta 1-2 can be an indication for the appointment of a medicament and vitamin course aimed at improving the circulation of blood.
- The second degree is within 35-39 weeks of pregnancy. At this stage, the placenta fulfills its purpose in full and does not require additional medical intervention. Its gradual aging is a normal natural conditioned process, the main thing is that it is not hasty. Since 37 and 38 weeks are considered the time for the birth of a normal child, the diagnosis of "aging of the placenta" is no longer so daunting.
- Immediately before the delivery itself, the second and third degree of placenta growth is noted. The presence of the last stage does not cause serious harm to the child, if there is no danger of his intrauterine suffocation. The presence of signs of hypoxia and the degree of maturity of the placenta 2-3 are indicators to the urgent cesarean section.
What precedes the early maturation of the placenta?
Early maturation takes place if the placental organ begins to lose its functional properties before the 32nd week of pregnancy (stage 2) or at 36 weeks (stage 3). The reasons for accelerated maturation of the placenta are:
- previous abortions and complicated births;
- pathology of the endocrine system;
- existing chronic diseases;
- conflict of the rhesus mother and child;
- detachment of the placenta during pregnancy or its incorrect location;
- pregnancy with several fruits and so on.
Inconsistency of the degree of maturity of the placenta during pregnancy, the timing of gestation, fraught with a violation of its blood supply, hypoxia or defects in the work of the brain.
The norm of the degree of maturity of the placenta will be communicated to you at each planned ultrasound. In time, the revealed placental insufficiency may well be normalized by medication. Therefore, it is so important to know what the degree of maturity of the placenta means and not to neglect the regular conduct of appropriate analyzes.