Placenta thickness throughout pregnancy

Every woman, becoming pregnant, begins to learn how to behave properly, so that with the future baby everything was fine. She fully eats, does not abuse bad habits, and regularly visits her doctor. Throughout pregnancy, it is important to monitor the placenta. What is it and why is it so important?

The placenta is the organ from which the fetus eats and breathes. It produces hormones necessary for normal life of the mother and protect the child from internal aggression of the body, thereby preventing its rejection.

The structure of the placenta is very complicated. Its formation begins almost simultaneously with the attachment of the embryo to the wall of the uterus. The main part of the placenta consists of villi, which intertwine with each other, resembling the roots of a mighty tree. On these naps the blood of the child flows, and from the outside it is surrounded by maternal blood. Consequently, in the placenta there are two circulatory systems - the mother and child, between which there is an exchange. The child takes oxygen and nutrients from his mother's blood, and returns carbon dioxide and the products necessary for excretion from the body.

Protect the fetus from the placenta from 12 weeks. All bacteria, viruses in the mother's blood, it filters and already purified blood with oxygen comes to the child.

In addition to the protective, respiratory and nutritional, the placenta still has a hormonal function. It can produce about 15 hormones, the purpose of which is different. For example, sex hormones are necessary for maintaining pregnancy.

The role of the placenta is very large, as it grows faster than the baby itself. Already at 12 weeks of pregnancy , the fetus weighs about 4 grams, and the weight of the baby's place reaches 30 grams. Already closer to birth, the diameter is 15-18 centimeters, and the thickness of the placenta is 2-3 centimeters, and it weighs about 600 grams. In order to navigate, everything is in order with the development of the fetus, there are special indicators indicated below.

The thickness of the placenta for weeks at different times of pregnancy:

• 20 week - 21.96 mm;
• 21 weeks - 22, 81 mm;
• 22 week - 23.66 mm;
• 23 week - 24.55 mm;
• 24 week - 25.37 mm;
• 25 week - 26.22 mm;
• 26 week - 27.07 mm;
• 27 week - 27.92 mm;
• 28 week - 28.78 mm;
• 29 week - 29.63 mm;
• 30 week - 30.48 mm;
• 31 week - 31.33 mm;
• 32 week - 32.18 mm;
• 33 weeks - 33.04 mm;
• 34 weeks - 33.89 mm;
• 35 week - 34.74 mm;
• Week 36 - 35.59 mm;
• 37 week - 34.35 mm;
• 38 week - 34.07 mm;
• 39 week - 33.78 mm;
• 40 week - 33.50mm.

These indicators may vary slightly. But if the thickness of the placenta has large deviations in size, then the pregnant woman will have to undergo a serious course of treatment.

Unfortunately, to date, very often there are deviations in the development of the placenta. These violations simply never go away and can lead to terrible consequences. It is for this reason that parents need to know the causes of pathologies and methods of treatment.

All future mothers, looking forward to the birth of a baby, always worry about their child, and the thickness of the placenta is one of the indicators of the normal course of pregnancy.

Very often, women in the situation are diagnosed as " placental hypoplasia, " popularly called "thin placenta." The causes of this pathology can be genetic disorders. It should be borne in mind that the fetus is affected only by a strong decrease in the size of the child's place. Also, the size of the placenta may decrease during pregnancy - many unfavorable factors may contribute to its premature aging and maturation. This is also due to various diseases of the mother. The difference between the genetic deviation and the changes that have occurred due to the disease is that the reduced thickness of the placenta, which arises from the illness, is prevented (healed), but it is impossible to predict genetic deviations.

Hyperplasia , that is, an increase in the size of the placenta, happens in case of transfer of an infectious disease, with diabetes, with anemia, as well as Rh-conflict. You can treat hyperplasia only after establishing the correct cause of its occurrence. The consequence of an increase in the placenta is its insufficiency, which can lead to a delay in the development of the fetus (and sometimes to premature birth).

Also, the size of the placenta affects the physique of a woman. For example, in women with small height and weight, the size of a child's place can be much smaller than that of women with Rubens forms.

Thus, we can conclude that it is necessary to monitor not only the development of the fetus, but also the thickness of the placenta, the norm of which is indicated above.