Contents:
- Medical Video: Labor And Delivery Child Birth | Manipal Hospitals
- What is placental retention?
- What are the types of placental retention?
- Adherent placenta
- The placenta is stuck
- Placenta accreta
- Who is at risk for placental retention?
- What if I experience placental retention?
- What are the signs of placental retention?
Medical Video: Labor And Delivery Child Birth | Manipal Hospitals
The placenta or placenta will naturally come out of your body after giving birth. The uterus will still contract after giving birth to remove the placenta. However, sometimes the placenta does not release itself from the uterus or there are things that make it difficult for the placenta to get out of your body. Well, this is what is called placental retention. To find out more, see the following review.
What is placental retention?
Normally, your body will naturally push the placenta out after the baby is born. This is called the third stage of pregnancy. After the baby is born, your uterus will contract, so that the placental membrane attached to the uterus will be released and eventually the placenta will come out of your uterus.
However, if all or part of the placenta is still in the womb more than 30 minutes after you give birth, this is called placental retention. According to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), it is said that placental retention occurs if the placenta does not go out for more than 30 minutes in a way that is stimulated, or if it is more than an hour in a natural way. Retention of the placenta that is not treated properly can cause complications, such as infection and heavy bleeding.
What are the types of placental retention?
Retensio placenta consists of several types, each of which occurs due to different causes, namely:
Adherent placenta
This type is the most common type of placental retention. Placenta adherence occurs when the uterus fails to produce enough contractions to remove the placenta. Even though the uterus has contracted, all or part of the placenta is still attached to the uterine wall.
The placenta is stuck
Trapped placenta occurs when the placenta detaches from the uterine wall, but cannot get out of the body. Usually the placenta is trapped when the cervix (cervix) begins to close after giving birth to the baby and before the placenta has time to get out.
Placenta accreta
Placenta accreta occurs when the placenta attaches too deeply to the muscle layer of the uterine wall, not to the uterine wall. This can make the process of removing the placenta much more difficult. In addition, it can also cause difficulties during the birth process and can cause severe bleeding.
Who is at risk for placental retention?
Anyone can experience placental retention. The following factors can increase the risk of placental retention, namely:
- Pregnant over the age of 30 years
- Give birth early, before 34 weeks' gestation or experience a premature birth
- There is a long lag between the first and second stages of labor
- Have a stillborn baby (stillbirth)
What if I experience placental retention?
Expending the placenta immediately after delivery is an important step because it can stop the bleeding that occurs during childbirth and can also make the uterus close properly. If the placenta does not immediately exit the uterus, the blood vessels where the placenta is still attached will continue to bleed. This can then cause bleeding. Please note that removal of the placenta that takes longer than 30 minutes can increase the risk of heavy bleeding and may cause maternal death.
Retention of the placenta occurs when the placenta is difficult to get out of your body. Handling of placental retention is necessary if you take the placenta too long or if there is still some placenta trapped in your body.
If you choose to remove the placenta in a natural way, removal of the placenta may be able to run for longer than one hour or you can experience heavy bleeding. To reduce this risk, usually a midwife or doctor will give an injection for improve contraction uterus so that the placenta comes out faster. After the injection, the midwife or doctor will wait until the placenta comes out. If the placenta is still stuck, maybe the midwife or doctor will give another injection.
The midwife or doctor will then see whether the placenta has been completely removed or only part of the uterine wall. If only partially, then the midwife or doctor will pull the placenta out slowly.
Sometimes, a midwife or doctor needs to use hands to clean the remaining placenta from your uterus. This condition requires you to receive anesthesia so that certain parts of your body are numb. However, removing the placenta by hand can increase your risk for infection.
What are the signs of placental retention?
Retention of the placenta may only be realized after a few hours after giving birth. Unconsciously, there is a small portion of the placental membrane left in your uterus. A small portion of the placental membrane will come out by itself from your body through the vagina. You may feel stomach cramps before the blood clots come out.
If the remaining placental membrane does not come out after a few days, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Heavy bleeding
- Abdominal cramps
- Leucorrhoea smells bad
- Fever
- Less milk production
If these signs occur to you after giving birth, you should immediately visit your midwife or doctor. The midwife or doctor will handle it further.
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