tender stomach with anterior placenta.is this normal?

[mumandlovingit]

hi,

ive had an anterior placenta (on the front of my stomach) all the way through the pregnancy so far. im now 24 weeks. ive been feeling the baby move more over the past week or so but only off and on before that due to the placenta position.

my stomach is tender where the placenta is and when i mentioned this to the midwife today she said to be careful i dont bump my belly and just keep an eye out incase it goes lower and i get any bleeding.its not placenta previa, its just on the front of my stomach instead of somewhere else.

everything i look at on the internet about anterior placenta doesnt say anything about the stomach being tender so its worrying me a bit. is it normal? the only things i can find are to do with placental abruption and having a tender stomach.

she said the baby is measuring a week too small too but not to worry as next time she might have grown to the right size.she said to just monitor what it is at the next appointment.

has anyone else had a tender stomach with anterior placenta or any normal pregnancy reason for it being tender? it's around my belly button and below but a big circle type area, not just a little spot. when baby moves its very uncomfortable against the placenta so obviuosly im a bit worried about it all.

my midwife is a new one who i havent seen before so im a bit worried about just leaving the subjct without asking anyone elses opinion so i thought i'd ask here if anyone has had any experience of this and advice.any help/advice is apprecited. i dont want to seem to be fussing about nothing but at the same time dont want to leave the subject and then something goes wrong. ive got this far and dont want anything to go wrong now. we've had s much already and ive got to be induced or c sectioned early i just want to be able to relax in these weeks in between.

thank you in advance. im going to bed soon but will read all answers in the mornign and reply.
thank you

[Lionstar]

My belly got very sore around my belly button, I did have an anterior placenta too, but didn't ever realise that could be a cause . I just thought it was because I had a bigger bump this time around. I really hated it, the skin felt numb, but also hyper-sensitive to touch too if that makes sense. It took a good few weeks after the birth to settle down too.

I did apply creams and a pregnancy massage oil all the time, but I'm not sure it helped much.

Hope you can get some reassurance from your midwife and not worry too much.

[mumandlovingit]

thank youfor your reply. im not wonderfully big at the moment so im hoping it doesnt get worse with the bigger i get.

the midwife just said something like, oh i dont know why it is that its tender, then carried on listening to the heartbeat which she said she was hearing through the placenta.

she's told me to wear a pelvic support for my sciatica but im not too sure if i should with the tender stomach as the support belt bit that goes round the back will be pushing on the tender part. i might use that as an excuse to ring her later and ask again about the support and just say what am i supposed to be doing regarding the tenderness.

has anyone else had any experience of an anterior placenta with tenderness? im worrying myself silly now over silly little things like if i wake up on my back im worried the gravity will be pulling the placenta down. silly i know.

thanks again

[mumandlovingit]

bump

[mumandlovingit]

anyone else had this?

thank you

[passionberry]

Well, I don't know if this will help but I was told I have an anterior placenta at my 20 week scan. I am now 31 weeks, the baby seems very active and the midwife hasn't said anything to me about not lying on my back. I have had quite a sore bump all the way through but I thought that was fairly normal (skin stretching etc)? My bump has also measured a week small for dates all the way through but again, my midwife said this was still considered in the normal range.

[mumandlovingit]

thank you for your reply. it's reassured me that im not the only one who has experienced this.i know i shouldnt worry but with my midwife having only been one for a year it made me wonder if a more experienced midwife would have had different views.

its not all my bump thats sore, just the front is tender where the placenta is.my trousers have to rest below or over my bump or its very tender and when im massaging cream into it i have to be extra careful where its tender.

once again thank you for your response.i will try to relax a bit now and enjoy the pregnancy before i get huge.i lost weight at the beginning of pregnancy and have put on 12lb in 8 weeks now ive started to put weight on again.give it a few weeks and they'll probably be telling me the baby is too big not too small!

good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and birth.

xx

[Oceanz]

I think you should get a new midwife. There is nothing worse then having a midwife who doesnt know what shes doing, especially when your in labor.

[mrsmontano]

I thought an anterior placenta was not unusual at all, and also what the midwife said about it possibly moving down? doesn't make sense to me, as I always thought of your uterous as like a balloon inflating over the months, so your placenta can either stay in the same place or move up as it expands, never down

I'm on my third pregnancy with an anterior placenta, and I've had a tender belly at various times with all 3 but never thought it was anything to do with placenta location.
Your midwife doesn't sound like she's put your mind at rest very well! but honestly I wouldn't be worried by anything you've said so far.

Just obviously if you get alot of pain or it gets worse seek medical help (from someone other than this midwife!) other than that try and relax. Good luck.

[cardamomginger]

Hi, I have an anterior placenta - not low though. And am also 24 weeks. Whilst my baby didn't measure small at my 21 week scan, my bump has been small (am tall and have long torso). The last week or so I have been getting some sporadic tenderness, mainly below the belly button. I've noticed that my abdomen has suddenly started getting bigger so I put these pains down to things shifting and stretching. I have to say I have no idea where my placenta is so wouldn't be able to say whether any pains I have correspond to where the placenta is positioned.

[momcop]

I know this was an old post but still relevant to others now - my sore patch is apparently where the placenta is attached, and I notice soreness is more likely the more stressful day I have had, so relaxing is key. It makes sens for pain to emerge when our body is trying to tell us to calm down and relax more, so listen up!