Anterior Placenta

[wattle]

Hi Guys

I found out yesterday that I have an "anterior placenta."
I think this means the placenta is attached at the front of my tummy?? Is that right?
What does this mean?
Should I expect any issues with doctors because of it?
Does it affect anything for me or for Fruity during the pregancy?
Does it affect anything when birthing? Pain sensations, bubs position, cord tangling, etc?

Anyone have any info or experiences they could add??

Thanks

[Melinda]

I have an anterior placenta also Emily. And yes, it means that the placenta is attached to the front wall of your uterus.

You shouldn't expect any issues with it at all - movement may be a bit more difficult to notice in the early days, but trust me, as things move along, anterior or not, you'll feel Fruity move! LOL

[christy]

I have an anterior placenta as well this pregnancy. And like Mel said other than feeling less movements until later in pregnancy it really doesn't affect much.

[Tobily]

I have one this time as well - I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever to my first pregnancy, even when it comes to movement it feels about the same. But I've heard many people say that they've felt movement later.

One thing I have discovered in looking into it was that it does encourage baby to adopt a posterior position closer to birth. Babies like to face their placentas so sometimes bubs can decide to face your front which can make things a bit tougher with delivery....but this doesn't happen all the time and isn't really a big deal anyway.

[Karina]

I have also been told that my placenta is anterior. They told there is nothing wrong with it being on the front, just that it meant I wouldnt be able to feel the movement until about 22-ish weeks. Something to do with the extra padding on the front from the placenta which means you cant feel it till the baby is much bigger and doing stronger movements.

[Pandora]

I had an anterior placenta with Milo.
I did not feel any movement (well, that I recognised as movement) until 23-24 weeks.
He was not posterior either

The only possible complications I have heard of with it are if its low lying and you need a c/s, the doctors have to be careful when making incisions etc.

[Patooties]

hi everyone,
just wondering if having an anterior placenta means i will be more prone to back ache.
i have a gammy back normally, but with my previous pregnancies i didn't have any back problems.(i had posterior placentas then) this time i have an AP and my back aches quite a bit. Could be that i'm just getting old too.

[Pandora]

Is your baby posterior? It is not uncommon for babies to face toward the placenta, so if you have an anterior placenta you bub may be posterior ATM, which may cause some more backache than normal.

That said, I had an AP, and DS was not at any time posterior (well and time that his position was checked) and i had lower back pain. I bought a heat bag

[MamaPan]

Jazmum - I have a bad back as well and an AP (As you know) and my back has been extremely achey lately... called the midwife at the OB and she said AP can make it worse due to the pressure the baby will put on spine as it may sit at the back... so that could be it. swimming helps me. as does a massage from DH!

[Tobily]

I was also going to suggest what rayray said about baby possibly being posterior.
I had an anterior placenta with DS and he was posterior the whole pregnancy - he was never anterior once that I could feel and had more backache in his pregnancy than with DD, who was anterior all the way through.