Aged Placenta: What Is It And How Does It Affect The Baby
As its name suggests, the aged placenta is one in which a series of changes have occurred prematurely as a result of a “prolonged life span.” Perhaps it is understood a little better with its other name, early maturation of the placenta , and it is not a completely pathological condition in all cases.
In the following lines you will find the answer to some of the most frequent doubts about this structural alteration. If you are interested in knowing a little more, keep reading!
What is the placenta?
The placenta is a specialized organ that only appears during pregnancy, so it is not found in most of a woman’s life. It develops on one of the inner walls of the uterus and is closely related to both the baby and the mother.
Its functions are multiple, but in general terms they can be included in respiration, nutrition, metabolism and hormone production. Without a well-developed and functional placenta, the growth of the future baby would be in great trouble.
What is the aged placenta?
This term is not used too often, since it does not refer to a specific pathology, but simply to structural changes in this organ that are associated with growth.
The aged placenta can only be detected with an ecosonogram and doctors use a diagnostic scale (called the Grannum scale) to determine changes that could influence the development of the pregnancy. Some of these alterations are the following:
- Appearance of microcalcifications in blood vessels.
- Changes in the number and size of the veins within structures called placental cotyledons.
In general, these changes are considered abnormal in patients who are less than 34 weeks gestation, since the evolution of the pregnancy can inevitably lead to these changes towards the last weeks.
What are the causes?
It is not known exactly why some women develop this condition and others do not. However, something that greatly influences the general prognosis or the risk of suffering complications in the future is the presence of maternal comorbidities.
Diseases that affect the cardiovascular system are some of these conditions. High blood pressure, metabolic or kidney diseases can be related to the appearance of an aging placenta.
What are the consequences for the baby?
Based on this research, an aging placenta may be associated with some degree of placental insufficiency. This last term refers to the inability of this organ to fulfill its functions, the most direct consequence of which is the inadequate growth of the future baby.
This last aspect may be related to alterations such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and problems with the volume of amniotic fluid, especially its decrease.
Is the aging placenta treatable?
The behavior that doctors usually follow depends a lot on the maternal conditions, the associated risk factors and the growth of the baby. If all this is in order at the time of the consultation, it is likely that you will decide to wait and see how the pregnancy evolves. As we mentioned before, an aging placenta is not an emergency.
Some changes in lifestyle and a greater frequency of medical visits could be the most pertinent indications in the latter case.
If intrauterine development is confirmed to be poor, the doctor may suggest or indicate termination of the pregnancy. Although the baby would be born a few weeks in advance, this would prevent the development of other more serious complications.
When to go to the doctor?
An aged placenta does not usually cause specific symptoms in the mother, so the most advisable option is to go to prenatal consultations regularly. In many of them, the doctor will perform an ecosonogram in order to look for this and other alterations.
During the first months of a normal pregnancy, a monthly consultation is usually sufficient, although as the weeks progress, in the last trimester the consultations and special ecosonograms may become more regular. Remember to never miss your appointments!
Aging placenta is not always dangerous
As we have commented on several occasions, this condition does not have to mean a change in the course of the pregnancy. As this can only be diagnosed by means of an ultrasound, the doctor will be in charge of notifying you the steps to follow in case of having detected this alteration.
