Low lying placenta - any experience?

[Shopaholic29]

Hi ladies,
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of low lying placenta?
I'm currently 16w3d and had a bleed at 16w exactly, went to maternity triage to get checked out and a scan was provided which they advised low lying placenta and this was the likely cause of the bleed. Wasn't really provided with much info other than to wait til my 20 week scan & if any further bleeding/cramps to come straight back to hospital. Also rhesus negative so had to have anti-d injection. Appreciate still got plenty of time for it to move up, but still a worrier!!
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this that they can share, any advice they were given? Thanks

Hi OP, I had a low placenta, adjacent but not over the os at 24 weeks, discovered at my first scan (surprise baby, no symptoms). They scared my with tales c sections and possible blood loss and hospital admissions. Luckily when they repeated the scan a few weeks later it had moved and by 32 weeks it was miles away. Baby arrived at 41+1, no problems . She's 6 weeks old now
I hope it goes as well for you xxx

Mine's low at the moment - no bleeding but had extra scan at 24 weeks and another one booked in for 32 weeks to see if it's shifted yet.

Thank you both for your replies! @Mysa74 were you able to deliver naturally? No need for a c-section?
I hope to get a bit more info at my 20 week scan, as all I have to go off currently is google! X

I had a low lying placenta. My hospital were pretty chilled about it and I just had a scan booked in for 36 weeks. I had a major bleed at 33 weeks but the scan revealed the placenta had moved up so it wasn't that. I gave birth naturally a few weeks later to a healthy baby girl. When I was first told about the low lying placenta I was terrified about the thought of a c section. I started looking and reading positive c section stories and it made me feel loads better to the point that if I needed a c section, I would have been fine about it.

My placenta was completely covering my cervix at my 20 week scan. Im 23 +3 now and luckily no bleeding. My midwife/consultant/sonographer weren't concerned and said that 90% of them move out of the way by 32 weeks. Yes worst case scenario is a c-section but most of the time the placentas move. Hope that helps put your mind at ease a bit

When I had my 12 week scan they said the placenta move 99 times out of 100. By 20 weeks mine had moved up plenty.

IIRC the nhs website says something similar, it's more common for a low lying placenta to move out of the way with the natural growth.

In a nutshell 9/10 women will no longer have a low lying placenta at their 36 week follow up scan when a low lying placenta was confirmed at their 20 week scan, so please try not to worry.

www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/patients/patient-information-leaflets/pregnancy/pi-placenta-praevia-placenta-accreta-and-vasa-praevia.pdf

How is placenta praevia (low lying placenta) diagnosed?

A low-lying placenta is checked for during your routine 20-week ultrasound scan. Most women who have a low-lying placenta at 20 weeks will not go on to have a low-lying placenta later in the pregnancy: 9 out of 10 women with a low-lying placenta at their 20-week scan will no longer have a low-lying placenta when they have their follow-up scan, and only 1 in 200 women overall will have placenta praevia at the end of their pregnancy. If you have previously had a baby by caesarean, the placenta is less likely to move upwards.

What extra antenatal care can I expect if I have a low-lying placenta?
If your placenta is low lying at your 20-week scan, you will be offered a follow-up scan at 32 weeks of pregnancy to see whether it is still low lying. This may include a transvaginal scan. You should be offered a further ultrasound scan at 36 weeks if your placenta is still low lying.

The length of your cervix may be measured at your 32-week scan to predict whether you may go into labour early and whether you are at increased risk of bleeding.

How will my baby be born?
Towards the end of your pregnancy, once placenta praevia is confirmed, you will have the opportunity to discuss your birthing options with your healthcare professional.

Your healthcare team will discuss with you the safest way for you to give birth based on your own individual circumstances.
If the edge of your placenta is less than 20mm from the entrance to the cervix on your scan at 36 weeks, a caesarean will be the safest way for you to give birth. If the placenta is further than 20mm from your cervix you can choose to have a vaginal birth.

Unless you have heavy or recurrent bleeding, your caesarean will usually take place between 36 and 37 weeks. If you have had vaginal bleeding during your pregnancy, your caesarean may need to take place earlier than this.

I had major (total) placenta previa which was also anterior (the higher risk one) throughout my pregnancy and ended in a section (no other choice!) 10 weeks ago... any questions let me know x

Like @Mummyspider27 had, I've got grade 4 (completely covering) placenta praevia and mine is also partially anterior. It was diagnosed at 22wks and I am 28+5 today.

As the previous posters said, the overwhelming majority of low lying placentas move. I've been unlucky in that I've had 3 big bleeds (23wks, 27+1 & 27+6) and am currently on hospital bed rest.

It might be worth just gathering a bag together with a few bits so that, if the worst should happen and you have a big bleed, you've got it ready to take in the ambulance. And always keep your hospital notes to hand.

Hope yours is better behaved than mine and it shuffles out of the way!

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences!
@Relfm I did think to have notes on my at all times, but thanks for the idea of having a bag packed, I had to stay in overnight when I did bleed and was not prepared for it! And they did say if any more bleeds I would be in for at least 24h observation! I hope that the bed rest helps for you, and things improve.
Just worried with having bled at only 16 weeks, hopefully it will have improved by 20 weeks 🤞🏼 just scared every time I go to the toilet!!

@Shopaholic29
Yes, normal spontaneous delivery at 41+1.
She was really fast, arrived 85 minutes after first twinge, and twenty minutes after arriving at the hospital, lol. We didn't get out of the assessment room, midwife yelled "get the husband" to someone outside the room, who then dashed off to find him... I was able to talk and answer questions so that along with the time scale meant they didn't believe I was that far along 🤣