Talk to me about Anterior Placentas

[LynseyLou1982]

Hi,
I'm a first timer and I'm 21w+1 today. At my 20 week scan last week I saw on my notes that I have an anterior placenta. I've been on Google and researched the hell out of this and now I'm stressing about movements. At the moment I have only felt slight flutters but only if the baby is down either side or at the very bottom and they are not regular and not every day, sometimes I can go days with nothing. I'm anxious about how I'm supposed to monitor the patterns of movements if I can't actually feel any proper ones. I know this is important as it helps you to get to know the pattern so that you can alert someone if the pattern changes and movement reduces/changes. I wondered if anyone else has or has had an anterior placenta and when you started to feel proper movements? Am I worrying about this un-necessarily? Thanks.

I've had an anterior placenta twice now.
You do get to notice normal patterns of movements, don't worry.
It only masks movememts when they are small, past this point you will feel more and more.
First time, it took until 28 weeks for DH to feel anything.

First time, I felt movements from 22 weeks proeoerly.
Second time, movement from 16 weeks.

Two of my three had anterior placentas. It just means you might feel them a bit later, you'll still be able to feel them.

Step away from Google. Its not your friend. Of all the things that there are to worry about, this is not one of them!! Give it a couple more weeks and you'll be able to feel your baby regularly.

I had an anterior placenta and you will most definitely be able to feel baby moving - don't worry!

I have an anterior placenta, and it took till maybe 23 or 24 weeks to feel proper movements, before that it was just the little flutters you describe. It is quite nerve wracking, but once I could feel movement I was able to learn that pattern and learn what's normal for me. Now at 35 weeks I'm quite relieved I've got the extra cushioning of an anterior placenta because none of the kicks have ever been uncomfortable or painful. The main downside has been that it was harder to feel movement from the outside so my husband hasn't been able to feel it much.

I wouldn't say you're worrying unnecessarily because I know how hard it is not to worry, but maybe give it a couple more weeks and you'll probably be feeling plenty of kicks by then

I'm 24 weeks with an anterior placenta. I started feeling the baby at 21-22 weeks and now there's no stopping it! Big movements too.

When and how you'll feel movements very much depends on the location of your anterior placenta. It can be to the front, but low or high, centre, left or right. With my first, mine was anterior but low lying. I easily felt movements (I suspect because it was low lying, also I'm just really tuned into these things). I had obvious movement from 13 weeks. My placenta is posterior this time and I notice that the movements are more jarring, more uncomfortable maybe, but not really more or less noticeable. I could feel them just the same with my anterior placenta, but it's just harder to ignore this time, if that makes sense.

There really is no emphasis on monitoring movements at this point. Obviously, the midwives will want you to feel something daily once you start feeling any movement at all, but you don't need to notice patterns at this point. Really it's only after about 26-28 weeks when they care about you keeping more track of movements and then it's hard to ignore them, no matter where your placenta is. An anterior placenta might make it harder for you to feel them on the outside (or for your partner to feel them), but you can't miss someone kicking you in the rib or stepping on your bowel or cervix. You'll feel the internal ones all the same, so I wouldn't worry about it too much right now.

Thanks for all the replies. I feel much better about it now.

I have an anterior placenta which is high and I have felt movements all along (since about 16 weeks) with no problems.

I tend to feel little movements internally , and the bigger ones , like dc wiggling his bottom or moving his back from side to side are visible from the outside.

I've been able to detect a pattern from about 22 weeks onwards.

This is my third child.

I had an anterior placenta and NEVER felt my baby move. I’m a size 10 and only put on about 6lbs whilst I was pregnant, do my midwife used to joke about how there was no room for my baby to move. I used to go for monitoring a couple of times a week after 8 months.

I have an anterior placenta and at 31 weeks I can see the baby moving and kicking from the outside. Don't worry too much about it.

They encourage you to just notice patterns until 26-28 weeks and then the pattern the baby settles into is something you should look for all the way to birth (including during labour!).

With anterior placentas it's a bit harder to notice movements early on, but soon the baby will be so big it won't matter. And always (always) if you are feeling concerned about movements just call the MW and go in for monitoring. I think ladies with anterior placentas probably go in slightly more frequently than otherwise for monitoring but that is perfectly okay!

My anterior placenta is right next to my own belly button so any movements I feel are either in my hip or in my ribs and side (He's now 35 weeks so room is getting small)
I also dont have a regular pattern for movements but then his back is on my stomach so don't feel many movements with that either

I have one (also found out via notes, it wasn’t mentioned) and movements were a bit later than others to feel (23 weeks I think). I do find it hard to work out a pattern at times but I feel very definite kicking, booting and turning. I can also see it from the outside at times clearly

I’ve had two and with first I got movement ridiculously early, and with my second it was a bit later than average. What I noticed was that the amount of movement reduced when the baby was in a certain position, so try to be conscious of patterns and what your baby reacts to (fizzy pop, chocolate etc). I could also tell that if movement was in a certain place I would feel less total movement until he moved around a little bit. Try not to worry, but don’t feel silly about getting checked for reassurance too

This is a problem with ultrasounds. They have to report the position of the placenta. Low is a bad sign, but anterior and posterior are both normal.

It is thought that the baby likes to face the placenta (given all the drawings you see), so anterior is more likely to lead to a back-to-back labour. My child in this situation was position correctly for birth and I had a 2 hour Labour. I felt movements at 18 weeks (first baby) and plenty of movements thereafter.

I too have placenta at the front, and this is my 3rd child and Iv had anterior placenta every time. I'm 17 weeks currently with my 3rd and Iv started feeling flutters already. My midwife told me its absolutely fine though and not to worry about the position of it x

Sorry to share how annoying I found having an anterior placenta but here it is.
I felt next to nothing the whole pregnancy. I think I felt movements maybe 5 times. I had to be monitored a lot from 26 weeks. Some weeks I was on the maternity ward for an hour or two 3 times a week. It was miserable and I was stressed because of it. Just found out I have an anterior placenta again and hoping this time my experience is more like the posters above.

I’m 20w on Sunday and I’ve git an anterior placenta. I’ve felt a few weird squirmy feelings which I think is baby moving around. But my dr says not to expect obvious baby kicks etc for another 2-4 weeks. It’s a little worrying sometimes as I don’t feel a thing most days now so I worry about the baby. But hopefully all is well! I’ve got my 20w ultrasound next Friday. I can’t wait!

I have an anterior placenta (which is also low) and I didn't feel anything until 22w+ and then only occasionally and ever so slightly. I'm 28w now and feel lots of movements. My midwife only asked about patterns of movement this week. I replied I hadn't noticed a pattern but it was more and more every week and she was happy with that!

I had a high anterior one with ds. I only felt him move when I was lying on my side. Later in the pregnancy I could see him move under the bump but couldn't feel anything, was really odd.

Hopefully I'll feel proper kicks soon. Felt a bit of fluttering today which is reassuring. Baby was moving all over at the scan last week but I couldn't feel a thing. I don't know if it's low or high though just anterior. I'd have a scan every week if they'd let me. My midwife doesn't routinely listen for the heartbeat either (or at least she hasn't; yet) which is annoying as I'd find that reassuring too.

I started feeling movements at around 22 weeks with anterior placenta. Try not to get too hung up on kick counts. You just need to feel regular movement . Only you will know what is regular, or irregular for you. Don't be afraid to get checked at the hospital if you are worried. I went twice As I was worried. Both times she started kicking as they were setting up the Doppler!

I had an anterior placenta. Although I felt movement fairly early (17 weeks). It didn't really affect me being able to monitor movement as I felt baby all the time anyway.

The only way it affected me is that baby was more comfy facing the placenta- i.e. lying in the OP position. (And ended up a back to back birth). So try lots of exercise and don't labour on your back

Had one, felt proper movements from about 23 weeks and then he was booting the crap out of me after that!!