Hi, I've just had my 20wk scan and was told I have an anterior placenta which is also very low down, 8mm from the internal os. I know that since I have no scarring or history of previous C-sections the placenta is very likely to move out of the way enough before full term to still allow a natural labour, so I am not that worried about that (or trying not to be!). However I did not know until reading some posts here that there is an increased risk of bleeding as they didn't say anything about that to me. My main concern is that the lower part of the bump/abdomen, below the belly button and particularly right above the pubic bone/hair area (i.e. over where I presume the placenta to be given their description) is pretty uncomfortable most of the time. Not crampy exactly but a dull ache, enough to be worrying, and often gets worse if I've been sitting for a couple of hours like at the computer or on a train, or driving. I often feel pressure low down as well. I do not remember feeling any sort of discomfort this early on in my first pregnancy (which was not an anterior or low down placenta) and I am wondering whether this is caused by the position of the placenta or by something else. The consultant didn't say anything to me at the hospital about this causing pain (I forgot to ask as had so many other things to discuss with her re. size and birth options) so I don't know if I should call my midwife as I won't be seeing her again until 25 weeks and I have been uncomfortable for a few weeks now. I'm supposed to be going to Portugal for work in about 3 weeks and I don't know if it is worth the risk in terms of discomfort on the flight and then the train journey afterwards. Any similar experiences or information would be great to hear.
A bit of context: our first son was born naturally at a home water birth. My waters broke 48 hours before I went into labour but other than that the birth was wonderful and straightforward. We are planning a home birth again but since our first was small (just under 6lbs, on the 4th centile for my height/weight/ethnicity) they have put me down as high risk this time and put me under a consultant. They want to do serial growth scans every 3wks from 28wks to monitor this baby's size (even though scans have a 20% inaccuracy rate for size) and if he is scanning as under the 10th centile they will be "strongly encouraging" (i.e. pressuring) us to have a hospital birth in a labour ward with constant monitoring (my personal nightmare birth). Now with a low down placenta they have another reason to monitor me so I am not happy at the moment! On the up side, I suppose the regular scans in the third trimester mean that it will be easy to have a clear idea of whether or not the placenta has moved. I think the consultant thinks in some ways it would be good if the placenta DOESN'T move because basically then a C-section is a no-brainer so there would be no worries about trying to decide about birth options if the size is on the borderline (say sitting on the 9th centile the whole way). She essentially said as much. Not what I wanted to hear!
Anyway the main thing I'm looking for advice on is this issue of whether or not the pain low in my abdomen is connected to the position of the placenta and whether or not it is something to be worried about. Thanks for reading.