Question about placenta analysis

[Danni]

Hello everyone,

I saw written on my chart that my placenta was "gritty".

What exactly does this mean??

A nurse told me it happens to smokers and when pregnancies are longer than 40 weeks...none of these apply to me though?

[Alan]

Hi Danni
It just means that your placenta is comming to the end of its life. It is commonly seen in smokers but it is not unusual in non-smokers. I would expect to see at least 1 gritty placenta for every 7 births to non-smokers and probably 1 in 2 or 3 for smokers

[Danni]

thanks Alan