The placenta is the organ Through which it is possible for the fetus to develop during pregnancy. Allows the baby to receive the nutrients and oxygen it needs, as well as filtering your waste. It also protects you from infections and is involved in the production of hormones that are produced during pregnancy. Your well-being is vital for the baby. Today we are going to talk about a complication in the placenta such as placental infarction.
The transfer of the needs that the baby needs to develop correctly occurs through the placenta by blood circulation. The placenta fulfills the functions of respiratory, metabolic regulation, secretory, elimination, transitory fetal liver and endocrine organ. A healthy placenta grows throughout pregnancy, weighing 700 grams at the birth of the baby.
The complications that can occur during pregnancy in the placenta, can bring very serious problems such as premature delivery or stillbirth. They are not very common but it is necessary to know them to be able to detect them as soon as possible.
What are placental infarction?
Placenta infarction is a pathology of the placenta, where areas of the tissue that are within the placenta die due to lack of blood supply. They are divided into white heart attacks and red heart attacks. Let's see the difference between the two:
- White infarcts. This type of placental infarction would be a pseudoinfarction. It is made up of fibrionoid nodules of yellow, white or grayish color. Their consistency is hard, they are surrounded by villi and they are benign. That is, they do not affect the development of the baby or delivery. It is due to inflammatory lesions of the endometrium, which are forming these nodules.
- Red infarcts. Red infarcts are made up of several nuclei of red or black color depending on the age of the infarcts (the more recent, the redder). They have a firm consistency and if they are very numerous these nuclei give a characteristic appearance to the placenta, called "truffled placenta". They are located in the maternal part of the placenta, which will be much smaller, flat, thinner and lighter than a healthy placenta. This type puts pregnancy at risk by not allowing blood flow, causing insufficient placenta.
The placenta, not being able to provide the nutrients and sustenance necessary for its growth and life, can cause low birth weight, premature labor, lack of oxygen at birth or fetal death. It is not something very common, but it is important to detect it when before.
Why do placental infarcts occur?
Well, there are several causes. They usually appear in hypertensive mothers or with alterations in blood clotting. If you have high blood pressure, have clotting problems (a history of thrombi or clots), or have already had an abortion due to placental infarction, your doctor will monitor you more closely and possibly give you medication to prevent problems of this type. In principle, it does not endanger the life of the mother, as long as you do not have preeclampsia. In this case, greater control of both your health and that of your baby is necessary.
It can also happen to women without this history but they are rarer. They do not have specific symptoms to help us know if we are having a placental infarction. If you notice that your baby moves less than usual, 24 hours or more have passed and you do not notice it or you have unusual discomforts, go to your doctor. Don't miss our article "Discomforts in pregnancy: when it is normal and when it is not".
Do not forget to go to all your appointments to do prenatal follow-up. Your doctor will do tests to see the growth of the uterus and monitor its heartbeat to see that everything is okay. So if there is a problem, it can be detected in time.
Because remember ... the health of the placenta is vital to the life of your child, there are risk factors to consider during your pregnancy.