Small Placenta

[garfieldtracy]

Just wondering if anyone knows what causes a small placenta? We just lost our little one Monday at 36 weeks (his due date was 12/11/08). I was induced and after he came out the Dr. said everything looked normal, but the placenta was small (approx. 8.5 oz.). The Dr. thinks that our little one was growing normally, but the placenta was not increasing enough to sustain the oxygen level he needed. This is a guess, but I am grasping at anything to help explain what happened.
We have gone from preparing for Baby Showers to planning a funeral and I am still trying to figure out why. I can't find much on the internet about this (I am not diabetic, I don't smoke and I don't do drugs, these are common causes of a small placenta). I can honestly say that I a medically "boring" pregnancy - nothing out of the ordinary - actually pretty easy. I am quite the "stalker" on this board and know there are many people out there with a vast amount of knowledge (if someone can get a hold of Ghost and see if he knows anything that would be great).

Any (and I mean any) information would be greatly appreciated. As you all know this IVF process is difficult, and to get to week 36 and have this happen is devastating. I am just trying to find out why to make sure it does NOT happen again.

Thanks,
Tracy

[toobee]

OMG I am just so sorry for you...I dont have any answers, but that must be horrible for you to not know and to have gone through all the way to 36 weeks??? you found this out about your placenta at 36 weeks???? Were you getting regular ultra sounds ? An ultra sound would have surely picked up on a stunted placenta??? I started out with triplets and we lost one at 9 weeks....the embryo was measuring on track but the placenta was way behind...we knew we may lose it early on because of that- but I still have a long ways to go, I am so sorry, your story scares me!

Agan, so sorry...my heart aches for you!

[garfieldtracy]

We had multiple ultrasounds - about 8. Each time everything was normal - NOTHING looked out of the ordinary. I was always told the placenta was in the right place and everything looked good. Medically my pregnancy was "boring", nothing strange, nothing unusual, and nothing to even hint of something going wrong. My Dr. was in just as much shock as everyone else.
The total lack of warning signs is why I am hoping that someone on this board can help with the "What can cause a small placenta"? "Is there a test that can the placenta size/weight be checked, if so what test is it"?

[toobee]

I wish I knew, I am actually researching and havnt found anything, I mean I cant find a thing.......I am sure someone will pop on here soon with some info..again I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. I will be follwing this post to see what someone cmes up with-

all my best-

[toobee]

Mybe you should try your post in the babys lost section.

http://www.ivf-infertility.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8


you make get more answers....

[valerie68]

I am so very sorry and very sad to read your post!
I know that when my Mom was pregnant with me that there was a problem with the placenta and that it was small and that I did not grow enough. I weighed less than 6 lbs at full term. I will speak to my Mom about this and find out if she has any info regarding that. It was 40 years ago, so she may not know why. But you never know.

There is nothing I can say that will ease your pain but know that we are here for you...we will listen and will offer all the support we possibly can. I'll get back to you as soon as I find out.

Great big, giant hugs!!

[Warren Dew]

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!

Doing a bit of googling, it seems that most people don't think a small placenta is a problem. There are people who are worried about it half way through their pregnancies, so obviously it can show up on ultrasound or something. I found one case where a woman said she had a small placenta and her baby had a normal sized head but underdeveloped body; was yours also underdeveloped in some way?

As for why you didn't have any warning, possibly your doctors were paying more attention to placement rather than size, since placement can often be a problem with placenta pervia? If a small placenta was really the problem, perhaps they can pay more attention to it, and to fetal development, next time.

There's also a possibility that they made a mistake about the cause - I get the impression that usually late losses are caused by umbilical cord tangling, typically when the baby is trying to go head down, which also results in oxygen starvation. My sister in law had a close call recently when she had a son born with restricted blood flow from the umbilical cord wrapped once around his neck; in retrospect, she had noticed some thrashing a couple days before, and decreased movement in that last couple of days.

You are so strong to be able to think rationally and constructively in such a difficult time. I admire that. I'm sure it will help you get a live and healthy baby next time around.

[wishing_4_blessings]

garfieldtracy I am so very sorry to hear about your lost. I don't have any kids and I'm currently in my 2ww of the IVF, so I don't know how it feels to lose a child but I could only imagine how devastated you must be. I don't have any info for you but I did want to express my condolences. I did try to do a little online research but I couldn't find anything. Sorry, but I will be praying for you and your family.

[garfieldtracy]

Well today was Scott's funeral - a really sucky day. The nurses from the hospital came (they are the best).

toobee - thanks for researching this topic too. Makes me feel better that I am not the only one that can't find anything about this on the internet. Also, I did put a post in the "Babies - Loved and Lost" section - its topic is "Remembering 'Scott Harris' ".

Valerie68 - thanks for checking with your mom. I am also over 40 and after talking to my mom I realize that back then there was a lot of information that was just not given to the patients/mothers.

Warren Dew- I agree that the main concern was the placement of the placenta and not the size. But, now that I have had this problem, I am searching for a test/anything that could be used to help determine the size. The umbilical cord did not seem to be an issue. My Dr. told us that it could be that, but after delivery it looked OK (measured 58 cm.). Also, I had 3 veins (not 2) so there was no reason to "suspect" that the flow was not normal. The Dr. that they will definitely monitor that next time - even if I have 3 veins again. Also, throughout the entire pregnancy I never felt "kicking". I would feel twists/turns and pressure, but no strong kicking. But, every time we did the ultrasound he was call our little acrobatic because it always took the tech awhile to get measurements because he was moving so much - I just could never feel it that strongly. Also, Scott was not underdeveloped in any part of his body. He weighted about 5 lbs. and was 20 in. in length. He looked like a "normal" healthy baby except he was not breathing.

My REAL fear right now is never getting pregnant again. My DH keeps telling my not to worry, but how can't I. I am 42 and we were blessed with getting pregnant with the first round of IVF when I was 41 (a miracle in itself). We got married a week before my 40th b-day and spent the first year trying naturally, then clomid, and 3 rounds of IUI. So, now to have gotten this far and to loose the baby is extremely scary for me. I have already gone back to the fertility clinic and saw them (and cried with them for awhile) and we all want to start again ASAP. But, I want to know if there is anything I can do or any test the Dr. can do so this does not happen again.

Also, please don't think that I am rational right now - currently I don't want to go to my niece's birthday in January (it would be the first time they would have meet Scott) because my SIL's sister just had a baby and they will be there (how terrible is that).

Thanks for listening/helping,
Tracy

[garfieldtracy]

Just bumping this up to see if anyone has any information about a test/procedure that is done to measure the "size" of the placenta. So far the placenta is the only "issue" that was seen - not that it was the only problem, but for now it seems to be and I am grasping at straws and need to focus on something.

Thanks for everyone's help.
Tracy

[toobee]

Sorry Tracey...The only info I could find was that small placentas can lead to low oxygen and poor nutriton for the baby...low oyxgen was the biggest thing I read because apprently it can suffocate the baby if I understood it correctly As far as actually meausring the placenta, the only thing they seem to measure is the baby on on a sono...I didnt read anything about measuring the placenta...but I have read that small placenas lead to problems in allot of cases, but in your case you said everything looked nomral...so I have nothing to offer of value after my research. But again I am sure there are th eother terms I could have used to search but I wouldnt know what else to type.

[garfieldtracy]

Toobee - Thank you so much for researching this for me. I feel better that I am not the only one who can't find anything.

I am going to the Dr. tomorrow and hopefully we can talk about when we can try and get pregnant again. I am sooooo hopeful that we can get pregnant right away (I am not getting any younger). After this failure, I don't think I will be able to handle any BFN's. I am now begining to get scared that I am going to miss out on being a mom to my own children - because of my age.

I know this board reaches a lot of people and am asking for all the baby dust available.

Thanks for all you help,
Tracy

[to_have_fun08]

garfieldtracy - reading your story just brought me to tears. I am so sorry for your loss. I will be praying for your next cycle to work. You are such a strong women to keep going forward after a loss like you have endured. Keep us posted on your next cycle. I will be cheering you on.


Chris

[IansMomma]

I know this is a really old post and I may not get any responses, but I have to try. I just went through the exact same thing on Thursday and Friday. I had a regular appointment on Thursday, found no heartbeat, was sent to the hospital, still no heartbeat and sono showed no heartbeat. I delivered my son, Ian, at 36 weeks. They said the placenta was very small. They haven't determined that as the cause, but the umbilical cord wasn't wrapped or anything else they could tell that could have gone wrong. I am desperate to find out answers because at this point, I don't even know if I want to have children anymore and that has been my lifelong dream. I even remember thinking about my future children when I was a little kid. The only differences that I can see between your story and mine is that we conceived naturally and I am 25. I did feel lots of kicks until about a week before my last appointment. I also had a very boring pregnancy. I just don't want to try for another and have this happen again...I don't think I could do this again. We're still waiting for answers from the hospital and probably won't hear anything for a month. They haven't even released him from the coroner so we can get that part done.

Please, if anyone has answers or input, I would appreciate it. And Tracey, if you get this somehow, please get in touch with me, I need people right now who have been through this.

[mommyof2]

sorry for your loss. I too had the same problem. we lost our second son Dresdin on 6-27-2012 at 32 weeks and were told that it was because the placenta was too small. I am 25yrs old and had no issues. concieved naturally and my first pregnancy went fine as well. like you i can not find any answer. when i asked i was told that they measure the baby not the placenta and he measured fine. i constantly felt him moving. he actually moved more then my first son did. now we are having issues concieveing again because they think i might not be ovulating every cycle. It has been almost a year now and i miss my angel baby more and more everyday.