Preggie Pals
BODY CHANGES DURING PREGNANCY: THE PLACENTA
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Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[Theme Music]
KAYTI BUEHLER: There is just widely so much attention on the baby while you’re pregnant and very little on the support systems your body has for sustaining your pregnancy. Today we’re starting a new series were we will dive in to all the different changes your body undergoes during pregnancy. I’m Kayti Buehler a licensed midwife, and today we’re learning all about the placenta. This is Preggie Pals episode 99.
[Theme Music/Intro]
ANNIE LAIRD: Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the birth education centre of San Diego. Preggie Pals is your weekly online on the go support group and resource for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I’m your host Annie Laird. If you haven’t joined the Preggie Pals club then you’re missing out on inclusive interviews and our bonus content, transcripts and also special giveaways and discounts. See our website www.preggiepals.com for more information. Another way for you to stay connected is by going to your iTunes or Android market place and downloading our free app. Now our producer Sunny is going to tell us more about our virtual panellist program.
SUNNY GAULT: Yes so if you can’t join us here in San Diego where we record our shows, we would love to have you join us as a virtual panellist. So this is what you need to do: You can like our Facebook page. You can follow us on Twitter and if you are following along on Twitter the hash tag is #preggiepalsvp which stands for virtual panellist and we’re going to be sending out some of the questions that we’re going to be asking the panellist here on the studio. We’ll do it prior to a taping or may do some on the taping day and we want to get your feedback. We want you to be part of the conversation. To contribute that way you could comment and if we use one of your comments then you can win a free one month subscription to the Preggie Pals club so it’s just another great way to get involved.
ANNIE LAIRD: Thanks Sunny.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah
ANNIE LAIRD: Well let’s go around the studio and introduce everybody. I’ll start with myself. I’m Annie Laird. I’m 35 years old. By day I’m a government contractor as a teacher and on the weekends I’m a Preggie Pals podcast host and producer. I don’t have a due date for once so I’m not pregnant
SUNNY GAULT: Take your time off.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah I just have my post-partum belly so me and yoga pants were tight.
SUNNY GAULT: In so many ways.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KATE BUEHLER: Stretchy pants are my friend.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. I get tight. I got three kids, all little girls. I mean the two under two club which I know Sunny you had me like twice there. I don’t get sympathy with you at the studio anymore I’m like oh you had two under two and I’m like oh that must be so hard having two under two try four under four.
SUNNY GAULT: This is where I get to tap in and say I’m a mom of four under four.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah, yeah. So I got a 8 year old she’s helpful usually so no she’s a great kid and then I have my almost two year old who is hell bent on destroying my house most days. So right now this is my break talking to all of you and recording this so I am having a great time oh and then I also have a baby so who [inaudible] Four months and like 18 pounds. Sunny I put her…
SUNNY GAULT: Oh my Gosh.
ANNIE LAIRD: Do you know what I had to do today? I had to pack away the 6 to 9 months clothes today. How ridiculous is that.
SUNNY GAULT: That is crazy.
ANNIE LAIRD: She’s a 9 month clothes. The kid has joules upon joules.
SUNNY GAULT: Does she just eat constantly?
ANNIE LAIRD: I don’t know but she spits up too so then going back to the yoga pants. Oh I put on nice pants but she’s just going to spit up on them but nah she’s solid like sumo wrestler baby. She’s awesome.
SUNNY GAULT: Wow.
ANNIE LAIRD: So
SUNNY GAULT: So yeah I told you guys a little bit about me, mommy of four under four so two boys two girls. My oldest is three and a half, my middle guy is almost 2 and then I have identical twin girls who are three and a half months old. So…
ANNIE LAIRD: They’re being so good today.
SUNNY GAULT: They’re fantastic.
ANNIE LAIRD: They’re in the studio.
SUNNY GAULT: They’re in the next room like every other episode I go in and see how they’re doing. They’re totally fine. I just feed them milk every now and then and kids just sleeps
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: And knock on wood. It stays that way.
ANNIE LAIRD: You know when I was pregnant with my first. In when I had my first I just thought that it was the hardest job in the world I really did and then it was like then she grew into a toddler and like oh this is the hard part you know when they’re non mobile like that it’s like you hold them you give them love and food and like that’s it. It’s so easy.
SUNNY GAULT: When I think is so interesting about motherhood is you look back and you’re like you know when it was your first child everything was difficult. Right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: And now a baby comes along oh I can handle this you know but it goes along with that thing that you know you grow with your kids you grow as a parent as your child is growing. I can’t imagine having a teenager now but by the time my boys are teenagers, I’ll be ready for that. You know what I mean?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah
SUNNY GAULT: And so I think you know it’s just one of those learning you know you got a curve. Right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah
SUNNY GAULT: So you just kind of learn as you go.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
[Theme Music]
ANNIE LAIRD: Hi today on Preggie Pals we’ll look at a fun news headlines and the news headline that we’re looking at today, this happen in Florida, this was actually a national news here so ABC news. The headline of the news article is dad says he delivered baby after doctor and nurse fought. I loved it. The dad says that he delivered the baby like there’s some question about you know who delivered the baby here. So yeah what happened was that it’s in Boynton Beach Florida and so Zaheer Ali he went to the hospital. It was an induction so his wife when to the hospital to get hooked up and get her induction drip and so everything was going just very smoothly with the birth, they said oh you have to wait because there’s another mom who had an emergency C-Section and so the doctor said oh well you know we’ll just turn off the drip of the Pitocin and you just won’t have the baby. and so the doctor who’s ought to do his emergency c section on someone else on another woman the obstetrician is quoted on saying “It must have happened very rapidly because I was only on the c section for thirty minutes” adding that the nurse should have stayed with the couple but was likely quote and quote “nervous” about being there alone. By the time she, being the nurse, was back on the room was the baby was in the bed and this is what the obstetrician says. I can’t even imagine that you know no one being in the room and that is why you go to the hospital.
SUNNY GAULT: How does that happen?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: This article doesn’t even make sense to me because I mean you know even if one OB left I mean there are still nurses on the floor. I’m sure it was not the most pleasurable experience delivering a baby so I’m sure she was making noise. Like what the heck?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: I don’t and it doesn’t say anything in the article.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Now you’ve seen the hospital delivery rooms right like you close the door and it’s pretty somewhat sound proof. Maybe she wasn’t that loud and the nurse was not there right.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: So just they didn’t know and dad wind up catching the baby.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It went fast.
ANNIE LAIRD: Well the dad says was my wife was screaming. The dad told the nurse says you have to wait. So wow I can’t even…
KAYTI BUEHLER: the nurse says you have to wait.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah. That sounds to me like that’s like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
ANNIE GAULT: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: You have to catch your own baby in the hospital?
ANNIE LAIRD: Oh with my second baby that was a little bit different situation though. My doula and I you know she was helping me with some you know back labour that I was in and I was a transfer home birth and my water’s released and there was meconium, baby’s first bowel movement. And so I just didn’t want a lot of interference with what was going on. I knew that if the nurses saw it - you know a little bit different situation with my second daughter with this one. This sounds like they really wanted the nurse there and I didn’t really want the nurse there. So I sort of pushing and didn’t tell anybody. I caught eye with my doula care she knew what I was doing. Then she do not want to be responsible and she told the nurses she’s pushing and the nurses oh she’s not you know she just. Maybe they didn’t know because nobody was counting to ten I mean how that one can push a baby out if I wasn’t counting to ten. So yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: It’s required you know to push a baby you got to count to ten.
ANNIE LAIRD: This can’t happen until somebody in this room counts to ten.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
ANNIE LAIRD: So see she maybe should not have counted to ten. I don’t know.
SUNNY GAULT: I don’t know then it wouldn’t have…
ANNIE LAIRD: Then the baby wouldn’t have come.
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
[Theme Music]
ANNIE GAULT: Today we’re starting a brand new series about body changes during pregnancy and we’re kicking it off with talking all about the placenta. What it is, what it does and possible complications with that type of thing. Joining us here today on the studio is Kayti Buehler. She’s a licensed midwife. She’s the owner of Birth Local in San Diego. Welcome to Preggie Pals, Kayti!
KAYTI BUEHLER: Hi ladies, I’m excited to be here.
ANNIE LAIRD: Great well we’re happy to have you. Now what is the placenta I mean as you mentioned in your intro, there is so much focus on the baby and then after the birth you know the moms holding the baby and so excited and then the care provider’s like okay you got to push again like…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right. And the mom said like what do you mean? Why do I have to push?
ANNIE LAIRD: I’m not done?
SUNNY GAULT: No one tells you that.
KAYTI BUEHLER: You know no one wants to break the bad news that you gonna have to do something else. You just want to be done.
ANNIE LAIRD: Haven’t I done enough?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Haven’t I done enough?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: What I have to push again?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: So what’s really you know what’s really interesting, everybody thinks that the placenta is the piece that pops out in the end right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: You push it pops out you’re done.
ANNIE LAIRD: [inaudible] there’s no bones in it so it’s much easier
KAYTI BUEHLER: And I’ve got no bones in it.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: You know for those of you who are listening who haven’t push out a placenta yet, it’s much easier than the baby. It mostly falls out on its own but it takes a little push. And it’s hard for moms to give that push because they’re tired and the body doesn’t have as much weight in it so you know it’s not comfortable but it’s not like pushing out a baby. But you know that thing that pops out in the end is not actually the placenta. Did you know that?
ANNIE LAIRD: No, I didn’t.
SUNNY GAULT: What is it then?
KAYTI BUEHLER: It’s half of the placenta.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah. So the placenta by definition is actually a combination of the mother and the baby. And the organ that grows, by definition the placenta is the organ that grows within the mom that is part maternal tissue and part fatal tissue. It is by definition half and half. So it’s much more convenient to call the placenta thing that falls out in the end the placenta.
ANNIE LAIRD: But that’s only half of it.
KAYTI BUEHLER: But it’s actually only half of it.
ANNIE LAIRD: Oh.
KAYTI BUEHLER: In defining the placenta what’s really interesting is that it’s like interlocking mom and baby tissue. Right! And it becomes an organ of exchange at about ten weeks of pregnancy. It’s basically this amazingly profound underappreciated organ that functions as a lung, a heart and a liver and an endocrine system because it not only exchanges oxygen. It also exchanges hormones and actually creates hormones and metabolizes liver, excuse me, hormones and waste products from baby and mom so they can exchange and across to one another. We’ll talk more about that in a little bit but just to kind of change your perception of like what is a placenta and it’s also the membranes right the bag that baby hangs out in for 9 months. And so in a little bit we’ll talk more about the bag but just to kind of give you the impression that it’s actually like locked in to mom. And when the placenta releases then mom’s body has to close down all those places where it was combined with the placenta and then she’s left with inside of herself a kind of a wound but then as we know has to heal over the next 4 to 6 weeks.
ANNIE LAIRD: So the bleeding that happens afterwards that’s basically the placenta site.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It is the placenta site.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Absolutely is the placenta site and…
ANNIE LAIRD: I always thought it was just like the lining…
SUNNY GAULT: Me too.
ANNIE LAIRD: of the uterus but it’s primarily the bleeding…
KAYTI BUEHLER: It’s primarily the bleeding from the placenta site.
SUNNY GAULT: Wow.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah there is a shedding of the whole lining just like we have on our periods but primarily the bleeding after the birth. That’s why it’s so heavy because you have that placenta that's attached to all those necessary blood vessels giving all that nutrient to mom and baby.
ANNIE LAIRD: That all gets to need to get shutdown.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It all has to. Literally when it shuts down, all of the veins start to close and that’s the shutting down process. All those little veins and arteries have to shut down and that’s one of the reasons the uterus has to clamp down after the baby is born you get those big cramps that’s because the uterus is making itself smaller to close those blood vessels.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah it’s a fascinating process.
SUNNY GAULT: It is. As you’re explaining this I’m always fascinated about what the body can do and does on its own especially when we’re creating a human life.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
SUNNY GAULT: And we don’t even know our bodies are doing this. We are completely oblivious and our bodies are working overtime on doing everything that needs to be done.
ANNIE LAIRD: And I think it’s amazing Kayti you brought it up that it’s a organ. That the body makes an organ solely for the use…
SUNNY GAULT: Yes.
ANNIE LAIRD: of pregnancy.
SUNNY GAULT: It’s an organ.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah then you create and then shed essentially…
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Every time you had a baby.
KAYTI BUEHLER: And actually the thing about the placenta that’s really unique that if I could share that with woman that would be to say you know the heart and lungs like we are already amazed by them right by our own bodies.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: We can breathe in and get oxygen to our blood vessels and then those cells go to your heart and the heart pumps the blood all the way through your body. I mean the placenta is basically doing all of those functions on a mini scale. It’s a little tiny liver…
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Liver heart lungs combo.
SUNNY GAULT: It’s amazing. Yeah.
ANNIE LAIRD: So when does the placenta, when does that form during the pregnancy then?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Well what do you think? This is the classic chicken and the egg question. You guys know that right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: I didn’t know.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yes.
SUNNY GAULT: Really?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Think about it when does…
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah I mean.
KAYTI BUEHLER: When does the baby form and when does the placenta form and which came first, the placenta or the baby.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It’s actually I realized that in preparing for the show. It’s the question of the chicken and the egg.
SUNNY GAULT: I would think the placenta would form first because what would the baby go in right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah, yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay, okay now this get into a debate on when is it the baby.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Right?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Okay so…
SUNNY GAULT: When does the zygote become a baby?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Well right, right and that’s…
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: A discussion for another panel.
SUNNY GAULT: Sure.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: So the embryo as you know travels down the fallopian tube.
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: And it and at that point we do call it an embryo.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It’s called a blastocyst at that stage.
ANNIE LAIRD: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: And then the blastocyst becomes an embryo but it’s in that moment, the blastocyst embryo comes down and says oh look there’s that nice soft caky wall that I want to attach to. And it clings on to mom’s wall and basically that’s the start of the formation between the baby, the placenta and the mom.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right. So mom’s body starts to transform as that little cell starts to dig in and make a home for itself in her body. And then as that transformation happens the placenta starts getting formed and like you said it’s sort of like the placenta comes first.
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: You’re pretty close.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: But basically the baby is the inside if you will and the placenta is the outside of that cellular mass that starts to form on the uterine wall.
SUNNY GAULT: I see.
KAYTI BUEHLER: The structure then becomes a baby inside of a placenta right from the very beginning.
SUNNY GAULT: So it’s kind of happening at once.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yes.
SUNNY GAULT: The same time.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right
ANNIE LAIRD: Are the hormones that are associated with the growing placenta is that what causes or what we think causes morning sickness?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yes. Mostly so there are a few hormones that we think are contributing to morning sickness especially the high elevated levels of estrogen and human chorionic gonadotropin. So the HCG is the one that we think really contributes to morning sickness the most because as you guys may or might not have on your pregnancies, you know that the worst time of morning sickness is between 10 and 12 weeks right? Well that’s the time when the placenta is kicking out the most HCG to keep the pregnancy alive until it really establishes into the uterine wall which starts to happen after about 12 weeks.
ANNIE LAIRD: At 12 weeks then what happens at that point? Why can the HCG drop off and we still have a healthy pregnancy at that point because 12 weeks is really kind of like 12 to 14 weeks were you’re like okay we got a solid baby...
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yes.
ANNIE LAIRD: Not viable outside the womb but…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
ANNIE LAIRD: This pregnancy is probably going to make it.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: And then because by then the hormonal interactions had started to happen were the like the hormones of the placenta had started contributing to mom’s body and so she’s starting to make some of the hormones. The placenta is making some of the hormones. And so you don’t have this one central source like the placenta which is trying to kick out that HCG so hard to keep everything going.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah.
ANNIE LAIRD: How big is the placenta get towards the end of the pregnancy then?
KAYTI BUEHLER: That’s a great question. What do you guys think?
SUNNY GAULT: Are we talking about pounds?
ANNIE BUEHLER: Yeah I’m saying I have about a pound 2 pound maybe? 2 pounds I’m going to be going with 2 pounds.
SUNNY GAULT: So wait, this is without baby and all these thing?
KATI BUEHLER: Yeah. If you held in your hands, what does it weigh?
SUNNY GAULT: I don’t know mine was extremely big for the last one…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Well you have twins.
ANNIE LAIRD: Oh the twins.
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah they share the same placenta so I have one big old placenta.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah because they were identical.
SUNNY GAULT: I think it’s going to weight more than that.
ANNIE LAIRD: You think like 5?
SUNNY GAULT: I think yeah 5 or 6.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BEUHLER: [laughing] Sorry I shouldn’t laugh.
ANNIE LAIRD: No am I wrong?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Annie’s a lot closer so…
SUNNY GAULT: I don’t need to blame my weight gain or something.
KAYTI BEUHLER: If you have twins you might get a little closer to 5 pounds.
ANNIE GAULT: That’ll be a lot of placenta pills.
KAYTI BEUHLER: Do you really, Oh yes it would.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BEUHLER: Yes if you have twins you should definitely encapsulate your placenta since you will get twice as much as the average.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BEUHLER: Bigger so to speak. So the answer is technically as a midwife or a doctor we say oh the placenta should weight about 1/6 of the baby. So if you’re baby weights 8 ½ pounds, you would expect the placenta to weight about a pound and a half.
ANNIE LAIRD: I can’t do heavy math.
KAYTI BEUHLER: I can’t either. I have a tutor before I came in. So basically a placenta’s weigh like you said somewhere between a pound or two pounds.
ANNIE LAIRD: Okay.
KAYTI BEUHLER: I want to put a plugin for your nutrition because what I really see as encapsulator and as a midwife and doula is that you know the healthier that mom eats, greens and protein, really taking care of herself the better the placenta turns out. So you can have an 8 ½ pound baby but have a 2 pound placenta because mom is eating so well. So the nutrition, I mean you see the nutrition in the placenta so clearly it’s amazing.
ANNIE LAIRD: I have a question on that to with the amniotic sac do you find that what contributes to a stronger sac.
KAYTI BEUHLER: Oh God that’s such a good question.
ANNIE LAIRD: Because with my second pregnancy…
KAYTI BEUHLER: I would love to tell you.
ANNIE LAIRD: Because with my second baby, with Lucy. The midwife was trying to get like a perches…
KAYTI BUEHLER: An aiming hook?
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. She’s trying to get a perches on it but it just wasn’t happening. It was very flush against the baby’s head and then when my doula was also my encapsulator and she said she had to grind it like three times because it’s just so strong.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Wow. What did you do Annie?
ANNIE LAIRD: I don’t know.
KAYTI BUEHLER: That’s the question. You should market that whatever that is.
ANNIE LAIRD: What was I eating? Ice cream…
SUNNY GAULT: Bottle it and sell it Annie.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah
KAYTI BUEHLER: I think that’s what your listener want to hear is the ice cream.
ANNIE LAIRD: Probably not it’s probably more the greens or just maybe just the high protein.
KAYTI BUEHLER: There you go.
ANNIE LAIRD: So I don’t know.
KAYTI BUEHLER: So what we understand or what’s being passed around in the midwifery community that I’m in is bioflavonoids are the key to a strong bag. Did you eat a lot of oranges?
ANNIE LAIRD: Like citrus. Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Like citrus. The pith on the citrus is high on bioflavonoids. And that would contribute in having a strong bag.
ANNIE LAIRD: Now talking about nutrition, how do the nutrients get from the mom’s blood into the baby? How does that happen because the bloods don’t mix - do they? I mean because baby and mom could have two different blood types right?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Okay so in my mind it just makes sense that baby and mom would be like on one circuit right?
ANNIE LAIRD: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Mom’s blood becomes baby’s blood becomes mom’s blood but that’s not at all how it actually works. So it’s really interesting how they don’t share blood. The developing placenta forms a barrier between mom and embryo at around ten weeks of pregnancy. So it actually makes a barrier. And this barrier, like we said, is like an organ system. So mom’s blood stays on her side. Baby’s blood which is influence by its DNA right so dad could have a different blood type that could be the blood type of the baby. Baby’s blood is on the other side and in the placenta the blood doesn’t mix. What mixes is the nutrients. Some of the components like oxygen go across quite easily through the, it’s not the red blood cell that’s get transferred right? It’s the oxygen that moves across the placenta. And other things get generated within the placenta like hormones and amino acids. And then other things like glucose, it’s a gradient and those things get transferred across the placenta according to what the baby needs and also according to the availability from mom.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right? The placenta is really an organ as opposed to a place where blood just goes from mom to baby. Really interesting stuff!
SUNNY GAULT: I have a question. When you say it goes across the placenta does that mean that it goes through like what do you mean across the placenta?
KAYTI BUEHLER: So the placenta is like again like an organ. It knows it says okay I’m going to take this and it’s almost like it has a brain on to itself.
SUNNY GAULT: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: I’m going to take the oxygen and that goes through this way. I’m going to take the protein that she ate and it’s going to go through on this way. And so it takes all the things that you eat and drink and transforms them according to its own wisdom.
SUNNY GAULT: But it can just kind of just go through it once it says okay you can come in you can’t you can come in you can’t.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right and it transforms a lot of them and it transforms like the glucose that mom’s eat it uses some of that to go to certain properties for the baby and some of it to go to other places.
SUNNY GAULT: Right so.
KAYTI BUEHLER: It’s actually transforming the properties that she eats.
ANNIE LAIRD: Okay.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Yeah.
ANNIE LAIRD: Are you talking about transferring over different nutrients does it filter out anything like if mom’s drinks like you know alcohol or smokes a cigarette or even like a nicotine patch or something like that. Is there any way for or is it just go straight through?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Well that’s the thing right it is really wise organ. So on over the millennia it has figured out how to how to give the baby what it needs. Oxygen and protein and to take the things away from the baby too, like carbon dioxide gets taken out of the baby releases it through the umbilical artery and it goes out to mom and mom gets rid of it through her blood stream right. But for some reason the placenta didn’t in all of its wisdom didn’t figure out how to filter out caffeine and alcohol and nicotine. So if you smoke a cigarette you drink a glass of vodka or you have a tall frappuccino from Starbucks, all of those things are going to be going to your baby. It doesn’t know how to take those things and make them better for your baby. So your baby just gets that.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: And the same with narcotic drugs for example some women choose those in labour. I’m not saying that is necessarily a bad choice. It’s a choice that you might make at a time but you should know…
ANNIE LAIRD: That it does go to the baby.
KAYTI BEUHLER: That it does go to the baby.
ANNIE LAIRD: When we come back we’ll talk about possible complications involving the placenta. We’ll be right back.
[Theme Music]
ANNIE LAIRD: Welcome back. Today we’re talking about placentas. Kayti Buehler is our expert. Kayti what is placenta previa?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Placenta previa refers to the time when the placenta covers the Cervical-OS right? So the cervical opening is where the baby comes out and the placenta can sometimes cover that. And that’s a pretty dangerous condition because if the cervix starts to open and there’s those open blood vessels from the placenta there you could have significant amount of bleeding. Right because we’ve been saying the placenta is a very fast killer if it’s attached to something. So if it’s attached at the cervix, you could have a significant amount of bleeding and it will be very dangerous.
ANNIE LAIRD: So for a woman that had this condition how would this even be diagnose like through an ultrasound?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Through an ultrasound.
ANNIE LAIRD: Okay. So if a woman has this condition the doctor or midwife would definitely not want a vaginal birth…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
ANNIE LAIRD: for this mom.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Right.
ANNIE LAIRD: And then she wouldn’t even probably want her to go into labour from what you’re saying that the cervix starts to open and then you’re risking a lot of bleeding at that point.
KAYTI BUEHLER: That’s right we definitely don’t, no one think it’s a good idea to start labour with a placenta previa. But having said that, some women do have a partial placenta previa and or maybe you know early on the pregnancy maybe at 20 weeks when they do the 20 week ultrasound. Oh your placenta is close to the OS and that’s a bit of a different story.
ANNIE LAIRD: Okay. Now what is a placental abruption?
KAYTI BUEHLER: That’s when a part of the placenta or all of the placenta detaches before the baby is born. Very dangerous condition! It can happen. Just a tiny piece of it comes off the wall and like we said the mother and the baby are attached right there at the wall right through the placenta. So if a part of it detaches there’s all those arteries and veins that are trying to create blood flow and so it could cause a significant bleed. That’s what we hope doesn’t happen and there are signs that we can look for if that’s happening especially bleeding in like pregnancy could be a sign of a partial abruption.
ANNIE LAIRD: And we’re talking like that like you know spotting, we’re talking like bright red bleeding.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Bright red bleeding
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUHELER: You know a partial very small abruption could involve you know, two to four tablespoons of blood a day. It could be a relatively small amount of blood but it would be a sign to you that you may want to ask your midwife or physician for their assistance for sure for them to check in on you. And more rarely than that is the full placenta abruption where the entire placenta comes off of the uterus before the baby is born and that is an obstetric emergency.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah you definitely get like emergency C-Section…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Oh yeah.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: I know that I don’t know how severe it was but a friend of mine had that happen and thankfully I think she was full term and she just woke up one morning and there was blood and right away they took her in and there was c section.
KAYTI BUEHLER: How scary.
SUNNY GAULT: The baby was fine you know nothing wrong with the baby.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Wow. That’s a miracle.
SUNNY GAULT: But it was still… Again I don’t know if it was a partial. I don’t think it was a full but…
ANNIE LAIRD: I say if it was a full you wouldn’t have much time because that’s the whole inner exchange what you’re saying.
SUNNY GAULT: How much time would you have?
KAYTI BUEHLER: Like five or six minutes.
SUNNY GAULT: Before the baby…
KAYTI BUEHLER: Potentially yeah.
SUNNY GAULT: Oh my goodness. So okay this was not a full…
ANNIE LAIRD: It was probably not a complete…
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.
ANNIE LAIRD: But a partial abruption if it causes enough bleeding to…
SUNNY GAULT: It’s scary. I mean can you imagine I mean I would be totally freaking out if I was practically full term and I woke up to lots of blood.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Absolutely.
SUNNY GAULT: What causes that? Do we know?
KAYTI BUEHLER: We don’t. Mostly it is completely unexplained.
SUNNY GAULT: That’s so frustrating because you may want to avoid it right. You want to avoid it.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Someone might think like okay that’s why you don’t want to necessarily ride a motorcycle or…
SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.
KAYTI BUEHLER: Fall down when you’re pregnant or get into a car accident. Those things have actually been pretty safely navigated by a lot of women who didn’t go on the placenta abruption.
SUNNY GAULT: Right.
KAYTI BUEHLER: But that’s the scare of those of that fall is it something could happen to the placenta or the baby.
ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. Well thanks Kayti for joining us today. For more information about our expert, visit the episode page on our website. This conversation continues for members of our Preggie Pals club. After the show Kayti is going to share with us her experiences working in a birth house in Japan and what they do with the placenta. You don’t want to miss this. To join our club, visit our website www.preggiepals.com.
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CYNTHIA KAITIN: Hello Preggie Pals I’m Cynthia Kaitin founder of trick my crib nursery and kid’s room designs where I help your nursery dreams come true. I’m excited to talk to you today about saving money in the baby’s room by getting designer looks for less. When you enter the world of nursery décor you soon find that just because it’s for a little baby doesn’t mean it has little price tag. Ideally we all want our baby’s room to be perfectly posh and it’s totally possible without overspending.
The key of shopping around and not buying the first thing you fall in love with at the expensive boutique, go to the upscale stores to get ideas. I recommend taking pictures of those special items you really love or making a list with the details that made those items catch your eye. Then go home and shop online. Websites like e-bay and Craig’s List are invaluable to the bargain shopper. Usually you can see pictures of the item. Ask questions about the item and maybe even negotiate pricing. Sometimes you can find the exact same expensive boutique item for a lot less.
If you are unable to find the exact item, you can find something similar. It may not have the brand name but if it has most of the characteristics of the expensive version and it’s a fraction of the price. Does it really matter? Also don’t narrow your search to only baby items. I love to use home items on the nursery and often you can find them for less because there are more sources. I also recommend visiting your local resell shops and garage sales. You would be amazed of the treasures you can find and the fun you will have. I do personal shopping as part of my flat fee design service.
Please like trick my crib on Facebook and visit my page often for decorating ideas. Thanks for listening to today’s money saving tips and be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for more great pregnancy tips in the future.
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ANNIE LAIRD: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Preggie Pals.
Don’t forget to check out our sister shows:
• Parent Savers for parents with newborns, infants and toddlers
• Twin Talks for parents of multiples.
• The Boob Group for moms who breastfeed their babies and
This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy, your way.
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.
SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series or if you’re a business or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com .
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