October pregnancy is both a happy and painful event for all the mothers-to-be. Because the development of the fetal baby in the womb will make the mother-to-be worry, especially at the late stage of pregnancy. Is the fetus mature? How can we detect whether the placenta is aging or not? How do we interpret it?
Placental maturity grading
The maturity of the placenta can be divided into four grades, namely: grade 0, grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3.
Grade 0 generally refers to the placenta in the middle of the mother’s pregnancy, which is around 12 weeks to 28 weeks of pregnancy;
Grade 1 is the placenta of the mother-to-be in the late stage of pregnancy, which is around 30 weeks – 32 weeks of pregnancy, marking the basic maturity of the placenta;
Level 2 refers to the placenta after 36 weeks of pregnancy, which indicates that the placenta is more mature;
Level 3 refers to the placenta after 38 weeks of pregnancy, which means the placenta is mature and starting to age. Due to calcification and fibrin deposition, the ability of the placenta to transport oxygen and nutrients is reduced, and the fetal baby is at risk at any time.
The more mature the placenta is, the better it is
The more mature the placenta is, the better. It is good to have the appropriate placental maturity according to your stage of pregnancy, because the placenta is the key to supplying nutrients to the fetal baby.
A prematurely mature placenta means that the placenta ages quickly, which can lead to insufficient oxygen supply to the baby and even delayed growth and development of the baby. By the end of pregnancy, the placenta is basically mature. If the placenta is found to be at level 3 before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and combined with the value of the biparietal diameter and the estimated weight of the baby at 2500 grams, the mother-to-be should be alert to the premature placenta.
There is another phenomenon that you should be aware of. If the pregnancy is overdue, the earlier the time beyond the menstrual period, the higher the possibility of placental aging. If the placenta is aging, the nutrients and oxygen provided to the fetal baby will be greatly reduced, easily causing the fetal baby lack of oxygen. In severe cases, the baby may suffer from brain lesions or suffocation in the future.
How to determine placental aging
See if the placenta level exceeds the gestational months
Usually, it is normal for a pregnant mother to have a placenta maturity level of 2 and 3 when she is almost full term. However, if the placenta reaches grade 2 maturity at around 20 weeks of pregnancy or grade 3 maturity at around 35 weeks of pregnancy, it indicates that the placenta is declining in function. The measurement of whether a placenta is declining or not is often referred to as “placental aging”, which is mainly based on whether the placenta has matured beyond the gestational period.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen a woman with a baby in her life.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do this.
The doctor can determine the maturity of the placenta through ultrasound, mainly through the calcification points on the placenta. For example, if the calcification points are scattered, the diagnosis is grade 2, and if the calcification points are in a row, the diagnosis is grade 3. However, this may be subjective and some doctors may see a grade 3, while others may only see a grade 2.
So, how can we diagnose placental aging? Many mothers-to-be and experienced mothers suggest that an ultrasound to look for placental calcification should be done by an experienced doctor. In addition, it is important to look at the amount of amniotic fluid, ultrasound to see if the umbilical artery blood flow rate is normal, fetal heart monitoring, urine test for estriol to creatinine ratio, check the cells shed on the vaginal wall and so on. All of these can reflect the status of the placenta and must be considered together before confirming the diagnosis.
Pregnancy complications predispose the placenta to aging
Why does a pregnant mother develop placental aging? In addition to overdue pregnancy, pregnant mothers may have pregnancy complications such as gestational hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease. All of these can lead to reduced placental blood supply and accelerate placental aging.
It is important for pregnant mothers to have regular checkups and early related treatments to prevent accelerated placental aging. If you don’t pay attention, it’s easy for the placenta blood vessels to narrow and spasm easily, and the fetal baby may be chronically hypoxic, which not only develops small, but also has the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and even threatens the mother’s life.