anterior placenta and movements

[duckyisback]

Please come and tell me about your movements with an anterior placenta.

My first I had an anterior placenta and felt very little movement at all. I kept telling the midwife I couldn't feel her and she kept saying it was due to the placenta. My dd was stillborn at 32+5.

I then had my ds, I had a posterior placenta and felt strong movements from 16 weeks.

I'm pregnant with #3, currently 18 weeks and have only felt very few slight movements. It's starting to worry me as I felt ds so much more so early.

Anyone else had anything similar?

[helenatroy]

Does an anterior placenta ever move out of the way?

[PaigeTurner2]

Sorry to drag this thread up as its a good few weeks old but just wanted to offer another experience of anterior placenta.

With my dd I couldn't feel anything. When I had my 20 week scan I felt like the consultant didn't believe I couldn't feel the massive somersaults and at my mw appts they kept asking if the movements had changed. How can they change when they've never been??

I went to get checked out a couple of times but felt like I was wasting everyone's time. In the end I had to be reassured by the hiccups my dd has every day because that was the only thing i could feel from her. She was born healthy and happy.

I'm now pg again and praying to feel more this time and be less anxious every day

[Colabottle10]

FK - def wouldn't worry until around 20 weeks.

When I had my 20 scan you could see the baby moving on the screen but I still couldn't feel anything. Normal movements don't happen really until around 21-26 weeks. I certainly wouldn't panic at 16 weeks. Like I said, I felt nothing other than tiny 'bubbles' like gas till around 24 weeks and then nothing proper until 26 weeks.

[FKat2016]

Thanks Cake, that's really useful. There's so much clashing information on the internet, it's nice to hear advice from an actual person!

[CakeAndChocolate]

FK my sonographer said at my 16 week scan (5 weeks ago) that she wouldn't expect anyone to really feel anything until about 19/20 weeks. She is a specialist sonographer that only scans high risk women so I would have thought she knows what she is talking about. Obviously not a midwife or doctor though.

[FKat2016]

Colabottle, did your midwife say anything to indicate at what point one should seek a medical opinion/ultrasound if movement is not felt? I'll be 16 weeks at the end of this week and this is my first baby too, I've not felt movement (although wouldn't necessarily expect to yet anyway as its baby no.1) but am wondering when I should ask for a second opinion if I continue not to feel anything

Xxx

[Colabottle10]

There's some really bad advice being given out from HCP to women on this thread.

I am pregnant with first baby and have an anterior Placenta. At my 22 week MW appointment I mentioned if not felt anything and she sent me straight to the pregnancy assessment unit for an extra scan. All was well but both sonographer and consultant told me that if I was worried I wasn't feeling anything I was to go back ASAP. Anterior placenta is not an excuse for not feeling movement.

I didn't feel anything proper until around 26 weeks and since then I've had regular movement.

Don't be fobbed off with the 'you won't feel anything if it's anterior'. If you are worried, get to hospital.

[duckyisback]

It's good to hear I'm not alone! Really hoping I get stronger movements soon. Have had nothing at all this morning and it's just wierd because it's kind of like I'm not even pregnant

FKat, I think most people, even if they don't admit it, kind of have an idea what they would want. Tbh I kind of hoped for a boy, and I feel awful saying it but I feel a bit guilty for ds! I know it's ridiculous but he's used to being an only child! So I thought a boy would have been easier for him.

I read that back and it sounds even more ridiculous than I thought

[Figgygal]

I'm 25 weeks today with an anterior placenta and it's only been last 2-3 weeks I've felt anything it's been terribly worrying. Today I finally felt quite violent kicks at the top of bump it was reassuring

With ds I felt him very actively from 18 weeks so this has been a surprise.

[fruityb]

I have an anterior placenta, it's my first baby and I didn't really feel proper movements until about 24-25 weeks. I'm 31+4 now and feel it daily but it's taken a long time for me to feel confident about their movements I have to say.

[FKat2016]

Aww lovely!

We won't find out until the end of July but I'm really certain ours a boy (although I'd really like a girl which I feel guilty admitting)

[duckyisback]

Ohh I regularly do that! Read the notes properly a few days later and have a panic!

It's a girl

[FKat2016]

I know exactly what you mean about being calmed for that single day and then the next day totally freaking out! After my dating scan I felt so calm and happy seeing baby alive and moving but the next day I read through my notes and started questioning what everything meant- the sonographer notes are really ambiguous. I ended up calling the ultrasound unit in my completely unnecessary panic!!!

Fingers crossed everything is ok for all of us xxx

Ps what did your gender scan reveal?! X

[duckyisback]

Thank you all

Thanks seafood, am hoping movement gets stronger quick!

Hi Cake hope your movements increase very soon! It's so worrying isn't it.

Ikkle, I would call back and explain your concerns and request to be monitored. But I never know whether I'm over reacting as I get so anxious!

Fkat, hope you get a wriggler! I have my 20 week scan coming up so am hoping that will re assure me, although I had a private gender scan the other week and the anxiety kicked in the day after. I also had a consultant appointment where they listened to the heartbeat. It calms me for the day then I get worked up again!

[FKat2016]

What a terrible, terrible loss- it is completely understandable that you're concerned given your traumatic previous experience.

I have an anterior placenta and also a retroverted uterus (as told at my dating scan- was 13 weeks at the time), so doubt I'll feel anything for ages! I'm 15+2 now, but not getting my hopes up to feel anything for a while. It's disheartening but trying not to get worked up or it'll just eat me up (I have anxiety problems and worry all the time).

This is my first pregnancy so have very little to base anything on but given your history I don't think any medical person would shrug you off if you wanted a bit of peace of mind, perhaps request an ultrasound to show you everything is ok?

Xxxx

[ikklepig]

cake
I didn't check my notes until the evening- all she wrote was "antenatal classes attended. Baby active". Grrrrrr!!!

I don't think it being my first pregnancy helps- everyone else seems to be having kicks and visible lumps sticking out of their tummies and I just don't. It's only in the evening when I get like a pop feeling like someone is dropping a heavy object onto a mat, normally about 2 sessions of this after dinner. Baby is measuring small also so I just feel a bit worried all round, hospital said that as she's not below 25th centile yet that this is fine.

[CakeAndChocolate]

Gah! That's so annoying when they write random shit in your notes.

It's good that movements haven't changed, but I would still say it is unusual to not feel much/anything at 31 weeks.

[ikklepig]

I rang the hospital today and had a chat with one of the midwives, the problem is that the movements haven't changed- I've never felt much movement. You can't feel any movement from the outside ever and I only feel like pops occasionally in the evening.

Doesn't help that my community midwife wrote in my maternity notes yesterday "baby active" so it looks like I'm making the whole thing up....

[CakeAndChocolate]

ikkle I think you should ask to get a second opinion/monitoring. At 31 weeks I think you are being fobbed off with "anterior placenta" talk. I don't mean to alarm you, I'm sure everything is fine, but think you should be checked just in case.

[CakeAndChocolate]

Hi ducky I think I know you from the rainbow thread.

I had a posterior placenta with my first DS and felt movement at around 18 weeks. He was stillborn.

I had an anterior placenta with second DS and felt some movement (but only on one or two occasions) from about 20-21 weeks. From about 25-27 weeks onwards there were lots of regular movements.

I am now 21 weeks pregnant again with another anterior placenta and for the last 2/3 days I have felt movement each day, but like last time, only one or two movements each day. Starting to feel a bit anxious again so I hope it starts to increase soon.

In essence, my experience is that an anterior placenta means you will feel less and a bit later on when baby is small, but by the time you get to the end of the second trimester you should be feeling regular movement and baby will have a pattern.

[seafoodeatit]

Movements are generally felt earlier with each pregnancy but only in the texbook posterior placenta with an average amount of fluid pregnancy and provided you still have the same body shape. I know worrying about movements is stressful, but it will get easier because as your baby grows the kicks should get stronger.

An anterior placenta is a bit of a blanket statement midwives make because the position will vary woman to woman and will have a big effect on how much you can feel.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[duckyisback]

Thank you, it's really great to hear that you felt movement just as strong, I hope I get that. Think I have been worrying myself too much with reading about not feeling anything.

[Metalhead]

So sorry for your loss OP. Like winecheese, I had an anterior placenta with my second and therefore felt her about a month later than my first, but from about 6 months pregnant I felt the kicks just as strongly, and in fact in later pregnancy DC2's kicks were so much more uncomfortable than first time round!

[WineCheeseSleep]

Sorry for your loss OP. I have an anterior placenta with this pregnancy (my 2nd) and felt movements a good few weeks later than with my first pregnancy (posterior). However by about 25/30ish weeks (very roughly) I could feel movements just as strongly and regularly as last time. So in my experience an anterior placenta meant I didn't feel as much while the baby was very small but then it didn't make such a difference once she really started kicking and squirming around!

[Northernlight22]

I'm 23 weeks now with an anterior placenta and I'm only just starting to feel him move - DH felt him yesterday. I'm quite anxious about it too, can only really feel anything if I'm lying on my back