Additional placenta lobe

[cujo101]

Hi, has anyone had an additional placenta lobe and were you treated any differently during pregnancy (such as additional scans) or was labour more complicated?

It was mentioned at my 20week scan but only that they need to make sure it fully comes out during labour.

Midwives have tried to reassure me it's relatively common and nothing to worry about- but I made the mistake of googling it and it seems it is quite rare and it can be dangerous for baby/high risk of haemorrhaging.

Thanks!

Hi - it is pretty common and generally everything will be fine - just a couple of things to think about differently. it’s important to make sure that the blood vessels joining the two lobes together don’t run over the cervix (which is called vasa praevia). That condition is very rare, but can be associated with placentas that have two lobes. That can be looked for on ultrasound scan, and may have been done already. You can just ask your midwife “has the scan ruled out vasa praevia” - if not then you should have another scan, not urgent. Vasa praevia can be complicated but don’t google and panic - it’s still unlikely you’ll have it and it’s a very manageable condition.
The other thing is that there’s a higher risk of retained placenta at the time of delivery. Most important for that is that the person caring for you in labour is aware that 2 lobes of placenta need to come out. Usually it comes out fine but sometimes can divide so one is left behind - occasionally that requires a very straightforward operation (no cutting or anything, just scooping the remaining piece out). Higher risk of bleeding if that happens - but given that you know about it it can be dealt with quickly.
Hope that helps?

I had a retained placenta last time when the cord snapped, and had to have it manually removed, so I was prepared for that potentially happening again. You've put my mind at ease and I will ask my midwife next time I see her if I can have an additional scan to rule out vasa previa. Thanks for your advice!