Can the placenta move during pregnancy?

[Hollyoaks]

At my 12 week scan I was told the placenta was posterior but at my 20 week scan they said it was anterior and I may not feel as many movements.

My dh and I have both felt and seen movements from 17 weeks (this is my 2nd pg) so I didn't think much of it. However, after hearing from others with posterior placentas they didn't seem to have felt anything much till after 20 weeks so I'm confused.

Can the placenta move location between 12 and 20 weeks or could one of the scans be wrong?

Yes it can....when the uterus grows bigger and upwards then the placenta moves with it (well usually does anyway).

With one of my pregnancies the placenta was at the very bottom and covering the birth canal which would have meant a c-section..but at a 32 week scan it had moved from that position and all was well.

I can see how it might move up with the growth of the uterus but was shocked that it could move from back to front!

I suppose it's of no concern either as its nice and high up, just wondered if this was 'normal'

Thanks for the response.

yes! i had placenta previa and it moved at 36 weeks!

Just did some googling and most say that placental migration can occur upwards as the uterus expands and so placenta previa can resolve itself during pregnancy, however I can't find anything about it migrating from back to front.

Has anyone else had experience of this occurring?

Madmissy - thanks for your reply.

this seems to be the situation for me.
12 wk scan posterior and last weeks 20 wk scan anterior placenta.

haven't seen my midwife to ask her yet.

but i did think it seemed odd.

From back to front- highly unlikely. from bottom to up- happens all the time (happened to me, actually)- it happens as the uterus "stretches" up.

to make a long story short- sounds like one of the scans was wrong.

girl on my ante natal thread had the same hollyoaks and it moved enough for her, try not to worry at this stage still lots of time

Nomorecake - I'll be asking my mw at my 25 week check (only 22 weeks at the moment)however, I asked a friend who is a mw off the record and she seemed to think it was highly unlikely unless it was highly posterior and now highly anterior so its just moved across the top portion of the uterus.

ShiriDoula - I thought that one of the scans may be wrong, I wonder if its worth asking about another one to clarify? Is it really important in the event of a c-section?

Hollyoaks- no, not really, because if a CS is needed, they are bound to check location of placenta before cutting in so no problem there a lot of women who have anterior placentas have CS, and that's just fine.

i had a false reading on oine scan as bladder was too full you are meant to be empty to see true location as bladder can push it about