The Wonderful World of the Placenta
The very first project you work on with your sweet baby.
The wonders of pregnancy never stop surprising. The fact that our bodies MAKE, NOURISH and then BIRTH a live human is crazy. A vital part of that process is an organ called the placenta. You may have heard of it before - but what is it and why does the baby need it to survive? What does it do? What happens to the placenta once your baby is earthside? Let’s start at the beginning…
What is the Placenta?
The placenta is an organ that is created by the mum and baby together. Yep I’ll repeat that - your baby and you CREATE AN ORGAN. Pretty cool. It nestles into your uterine wall when you first become pregnant, and connects to the baby by the umbilical cord. As it grows it becomes a sort of spaceship/frisbee shape that is covered in veins and arteries.
Why Does the Baby Need a Placenta?
Well, the baby is floating in a capsule of liquid called amniotic fluid - so it can’t breathe or consume food or water. The placenta is a sort of distribution centre that receives and delivers everything that is needed by the baby.
How Does the Placenta Work?
The placenta collects blood from the mother that holds oxygen, nutrients, stem cells, antibodies and all the good stuff and then delivers it all to the baby through the two umbilical arteries which are in the umbilical cord. The baby’s waste products and carbon dioxide make the reverse travel from the baby through the umbilical vein to the placenta, and then out into the mother’s bloodstream to be removed in her urine. The umbilical cord is wrapped in a super thick coating called Wharton’s Jelly that keeps everything safe on the delivery track.
Here you can see the 2 arteries (red) delivering all the good stuff, and the one vein (blue) taking the waste away from the babe and into the placenta to be expelled by mama.
What Happens Once My Baby is Born?
Once the baby is born, the placenta is still holding about a third of the baby’s blood - this will be delivered to the baby if the cord isn’t cut immediately. This is part of the reason many mums are choosing to delay cord clamping at least a few minutes after birth if possible, or to delay cutting the cord until it has run completely white. This also helps with delivering the placenta.
I Have to Give Birth Again?
Yes, you read correctly - after you have just done the most amazing thing and birthed your baby, you will need to give birth to your baby’s placenta. Lots of mums don’t realise this - but don’t worry - it doesn’t have any bones, so it will come out with a lot less effort. The most uncomfortable part is probably when a midwife or obstetrician feels your tummy to make sure the placenta is on its way out.
Here’s a pic of one of my placentas post-birth. See the blood vessels branching out over the placenta?
What Happens Once the Placenta is Out?
If in a hospital, the staff will treat it as biohazard waste, but some mums ask to keep their placenta for encapsulation or to plant it under a tree somewhere special. It’s completely your call what you do with your baby’s placenta, but at the very least have a good look at it! It is the first masterpiece you and your baby worked on together and a true wonder. Your midwife will be able to show you the arteries and veins that we have talked about.
The placenta is a truly epic organ - a temporary organ that keeps a human alive and growing - from a mere group of cells to a fully functioning baby ready for the world. The amazingness of this organ shows how your body knows exactly what to do to grow and nourish your baby, and can give you the confidence that your body will then know what to do when it comes to bringing your baby earthside. Bask in its glory!
Britt xx
Resources:
The Midwives’ Cauldron Podcast: Placentas & Cord Blood
The Khan Academy “Meet the Placenta” Course
My name is Brittney Blakeney and I am a Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum Doula, with an emphasis on education and preparation for your birth experience as a woman and mother. My job is to give you the most up to date research so that you can make decisions with confidence, and to give you the tools, techniques and encouragement to feel calm, safe and supported during your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey. I aim to create villages around women to ensure they feel strong, supported and listened to as they transition to their new role. If you don’t want to miss out on any new morsels of info, subscribe to my newsletter (coming soon) to get the latest blogs. I am based NOR in Perth, and can be contacted by email at doula@brittneyblakeney.com.au or head to my Insta to send a direct message. Click here for some more bloggy goodness.