The path to bringing a child into the world is quite long and labor-intensive. After contractions, pushing and the birth of the baby, the girl also experiences the separation of the placenta. It is very important to ensure that everything goes according to the rules and quickly. If even the smallest particle children's place will remain in the uterus, further inflammation and deterioration of health cannot be avoided.
In order to understand what the afterbirth looks like, you need to understand its structure and pay attention to the functions that are assigned to it. This temporary organ is very important for the baby and mother during pregnancy, and its proper release has a huge impact on the future well-being of the young mother.
The afterbirth is a temporary organ that the embryo needs throughout the entire pregnancy.
It plays a special role in the breathing, nutrition and development of the baby, and also protects the fetus from harmful external factors.
Visually, the child's seat looks like a bag with a membrane attached inside. This membrane performs an important function, as it is the connection between the circulatory system of the baby and the mother.
The system consists of a membrane, placenta and umbilical cord. You should know that everything is formed in the 4th month, and by the 36th week it tends to age. You can talk about how much a given organ weighs based on the situation. If the pregnancy is normal and there are no complications, the weight will be 500 g, the size will be from 15 to 20 cm.
The main purpose
This temporary organ performs extremely important functions for the female body and is worth remembering. It takes part in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and also removes metabolic products, delivers nutrients and protects the fetus, which develops over 9 months, from damage.
Among the main functions:
- protective - the child is reliably protected from maternal antibodies, as well as maternal blood is protected from the penetration of child antigens;
- nutritious - the child's place provides the baby with proper nutrition;
- exchange - oxygen from the mother's blood is able to enter the baby's blood;
- excretory - participates in the transport of metabolites;
- endocrine - produces biologically active substances and hormones, necessary for mom and the child.
Departure
The birth of the placenta after childbirth is a very important and significant issue for any woman. It is the third stage during the birth of a child. When the placenta comes out after the fetus, it is necessary to monitor the patient’s condition. At this moment, doctors assess the extent of blood loss, pay attention to the mother’s pulse and blood pressure, and also closely monitor her general condition.
After two hours, the process is completely completed, but after the birth of the placenta, the woman may still feel blood loss for some time - a volume of 220 ml (anything more than normal indicates a violation). It is very appropriate to ensure that there is no bleeding and the placenta is not retained. If the exit stage has slowed down, you cannot do without outside help. Doctors often have to remove it themselves.
If it doesn't work out
It is difficult to say why the placenta does not come out. Medical workers should be attentive and prompt at this moment. Such a complication can lead to an irreversible outcome and even increase the likelihood of death of the young mother.
Expulsion can be done using different methods:
- light painless massage combined with muscle tension and pushing (Abuladze method);
- without tension on the part of the girl, with impressive pressure and internal movement downwards (Genter method);
- most effective method: light massage, squeezing, pushing (Crede-Lazarevich method).
Such methods can be used not only for complete expulsion, but also to facilitate the process when it is difficult for the mother to cope on her own and requires outside help. There are also cases during which anesthesia and surgery are required.
Signs of exit
There are a number of signals by which one can confidently determine that the process of separation has begun. An experienced doctor should regularly conduct a personal examination and carefully monitor the patient’s condition in order to notice them. You can talk about the removal of a child's place if:
- Changes occur in height, shape and uterine structure. It becomes flat, deviates to the right and rises towards the navel - Schroeder's sign.
- The end of the umbilical cord, which comes out of the vagina, becomes longer and the umbilical cord itself also lengthens - Alfred's sign.
- The woman feels the urge to push. But this does not happen to all mothers - a sign of Mikulic.
- Elongation of the umbilical cord after such attempts indicates successful separation from the uterus - Klein's sign.
- Pressing with a finger on the suprapubic area provokes elongation of the umbilical cord - the Klyuster-Chukalov sign.
It should be understood that when there is no process of tissue separation, this is natural.
If mommy doesn’t complain about anything and feels fine, there is no bleeding or other signs of abnormalities, there is no reason to panic. Understanding this, doctors can allocate a few more hours (no more than two) while waiting for the process to begin. If such a step does not bring changes or the patient’s condition has worsened significantly, then intervention from medical workers cannot be avoided. Doctors perform surgery under anesthesia or scrape out the cavity manually themselves.
Inspection
Knowing what is done with the placenta after childbirth and where it is disposed of is extremely useful. The first thing doctors do is submit a sample for histological examination. This is done to check the integrity of the placenta. If even a small particle remains inside, there is a risk of complications in the form of an inflammatory process and dangerous uterine bleeding. Medical workers examine appearance sample: its structure, size, integrity and general condition of the vessels. The shell is examined from all sides very carefully; there should be no torn edges or vascular damage.
There are cases when during the examination it is clear that this organ has not completely come out. Such an incident requires medical care, doctors usually cleanse the uterus. This manipulation can be carried out manually or using a special spoon - a curette.
If there are membranes left in the uterus, cleaning is not necessary.
The membranes will come out with lochia (special secretions with blood, fragments of the membrane and particles of the child's place).
What do you do with the afterbirth after childbirth? A mandatory step is to weigh the sample and note the studies performed in the patient’s medical record. Next, the placenta is disposed of.
After examining the child's place, the doctor begins to examine the patient herself. It is very important at this stage to assess the volume of blood lost over time, wash the wound surface with a disinfecting solution, and carefully stitch up all cuts and tears. Next, the young mother goes to the ward, where her health is constantly monitored by experienced specialists. Close attention is provided for 3 hours; this first time carries the risk of complications in the form of uterine bleeding due to decreased uterine tone.
Prevention of complications
You can take care of yourself and simplify the process of having a baby place even during pregnancy. Monitoring your well-being at this stage is extremely important and necessary for any girl.
Prevention measures are:
- It is necessary to lead healthy image life.
- It is important to monitor your diet, if necessary, limit sweet, fried, fatty, spicy, smoked and salty foods.
- If chronic diseases are a concern, it is necessary to cure them and bring the indicators back to normal.
- It is recommended to allocate the proper amount of time for rest and sleep; you need to sleep at least 8-9 hours at night.
- It is forbidden to overload the body with intense physical activity.
- It is important to avoid crowds and places large quantity of people.
- It is recommended to worry and worry less and avoid the slightest stress.
- Any diets, fasting and severe dietary restrictions are contraindicated.
- It is recommended to take a complex of vitamins, fish oil and preparations containing iron.
Such measures significantly improve general health women, and also reduce the likelihood of possible risks in the future.
A woman in labor on the couch is rarely in a cheerful mood and with fully collected thoughts in order to control what is happening. Strength was spent on contractions and pushing, and attention was focused on the child. It is difficult to clearly remember the events in the ward after the expulsion of the fetus. According to statistics, not every woman can answer what the placenta looked like, and only a few know where the placenta is placed after childbirth. If an agreement has not been concluded on the preservation and transfer of biomaterials to the cryobank, then they must be disposed of by medical staff in accordance with the law.
Traditionally, preserving the placenta after childbirth was considered natural and obligatory. Throwing away a person’s first home, a talisman of health, a place where the soul resides, was equated with blasphemy.
During childbirth, the placenta provides fetal breathing and serves as the only source of oxygen. Neglecting it after the birth of a child guaranteed health problems, even early death.
The Slavic peoples buried the born placenta as part of the fetus, which connected it with the world of spirits. To do this, the afterbirth was carefully wrapped in cloth and buried in a hole under a distant tree in the yard or garden. Grain and water were often poured into an improvised grave.
Why bury the placenta after childbirth? The ancestors considered the child's place to be the twin of the fetus, its second body. When it was born, it died, and the child himself became alive. It was important to bury the afterbirth after performing preliminary rituals.
If the family wanted to have more children in the future, then the placenta was buried at the top of the umbilical cord during childbirth. It also promised a stronger, healthier newborn. If the couple did not plan to give birth in the future, then on the 40th day the mother took the placenta out of the ground and turned it over, umbilical cord down.
In exotic countries - Indonesia, Mexico, Africa - the place that nurtured a child for 9 months was often eaten. In wild tribes the tradition still exists. By analogy with animals, this ritual helps the mother recover faster.
Do you eat the placenta after the baby is born? Yes. You can use it to prepare dishes, cocktails, capsules, or just chew a small piece. Eating the placenta after childbirth is starting to gain popularity again. It is believed to be beneficial for women.
Why eat the placenta after childbirth:
- the hormones contained in the tissues of the placenta improve uterine contraction;
- substances in the composition prevent postpartum depression and relieve fatigue;
- blood in the child's place restores hemoglobin levels;
- vitamins and enzymes promote the production of breast milk;
- it is generally believed to help a woman establish a strong bond with her child.
There are also opponents to this theory. Their arguments are based on the fact that the placenta is actually part of the fetus. It is literally formed from the same two cells from which the baby itself develops in the womb. The tradition of eating the placenta is equivalent to cannibalism.
Procedure in the maternity hospital
Many women have heard about cord blood, stem cells and their sources. And almost everything is about horror stories that in maternity hospitals in the post-Soviet space, the illegal sale of placenta is flourishing, without the knowledge of the mothers themselves.
After birth, the placenta is filled with blood, enriching the fetus with nutrients and oxygen. If you cut the umbilical cord early, not all the blood will have time to get into the child’s body and, accordingly, will remain in the afterbirth. You can suspect that the doctor is “preparing” the placenta for sale by how quickly he separates the newborn from the bed.
In a state of euphoria, the mother is presented with a document confirming the voluntary transfer of the placenta for signature. The high cost of placenta on the black market, the demand for it, also shapes the supply. It happens that the material is used by doctors at their own discretion without any consent from the woman. Although there are clear rules for the actions of medical staff in this case.
Where do doctors put the placenta after birth in the hospital? According to regulatory documents, it is equated to organic medical waste (amputated limbs, excised tumors). Recommendations have been developed indicating how such materials should be selected, studied, stored and disposed of.
What is done with the placenta after childbirth:
- doctors examine the afterbirth for visible lesions and assess the general condition;
- the material is placed in a special labeled container with data about the woman in labor and taken out of the room;
- in this form, the tissues are sent for histological examination - usually only when indicated;
- if the laboratory is not in the maternity hospital, then the container is stored in the refrigerator until transportation;
- After analysis, the studied materials are disposed of - they are burned or buried in cemeteries in specially designated places.
Placenta is used mainly for cosmetology, medicine, and pharmacology. A woman is not always able to control whether everything is happening according to standards. But there is no official confirmation or incrimination of doctors in dishonesty.
Is it possible to take the placenta after giving birth? Yes. The mother has the option of taking it home for personal use or cryopreserving it.
She has the right to tell doctors that she plans to use the baby bed herself. The afterbirth is what comes out of the uterus after childbirth and therefore belongs to the woman.
Why is the placenta taken after childbirth? Many people want to repeat the ancient tradition of burying a child’s place. Others want to make it into a talisman, a reminder, encapsulate it, or eat it.
Self-use of the placenta
Even though the afterbirth is the woman's property, doctors may not give her the material for personal use. This occurs during pathological childbirth, infections, when a detailed histological examination is required. A refusal can also be obtained in a situation if this is provided for by the regulatory documents to which a particular hospital is subject.
How to collect the placenta after childbirth? If a child is born within the walls medical institution, you must notify the staff in advance. The later, the more difficult it is to do this.
The easiest way is to keep the placenta after a home birth. In this case, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone. In total, the weight of the placenta and amniotic fluid during childbirth it reaches 1.5-2 kg. Having given all the blood to the child, the volume will not exceed 400-600 g.
- cryopreserve the placenta itself and the collected cord blood;
- obtain a medicinal extract (most cryobanks offer this service);
- encapsulate for subsequent oral administration - independently or with the help of special companies;
- dry and then make a keepsake - photo frames, Jewelry, amulets, imprint, etc.
Families most often resort to freezing the placenta after childbirth and the remaining umbilical cord blood. The service is paid, long-term storage of material in liquid nitrogen It's not cheap. When concluding an agreement with a cryobank, doctors are required to immediately collect cord blood in the delivery room and package the placenta for further transportation to the storage site.
Why is the placenta frozen after childbirth? The collected cord blood and the organ itself are a valuable source of stem cells. If necessary, they can be used by family members to treat various diseases.
Is it possible to sell the placenta after childbirth? Logically, yes. The cryopreserved material is the property of the woman or both parents, according to the terms of the contract. The father and mother have the right to dispose of the tissues at their own discretion, including selling them for science or other purposes.
Selling fresh placenta for stem cell extraction is relevant in a matter of minutes after childbirth. The likelihood that there will be a buyer for decomposing or dried foreign fabrics is small.
How much does a placenta cost after birth? There is no single price. The bank that stores it can purchase frozen material. Sometimes sales are made directly to drug or cosmetics manufacturers.
Recently, there has been a tendency to preserve the placenta after childbirth. A unique organ is no longer perceived as unnecessary waste. This is a piece of the child, the source of his health and a reminder of past events.
While expecting a baby, pregnant women are prescribed an ultrasound examination. During the examination, the doctor pays attention not only to the condition of the fetus, he also examines the quality of the placenta. The placenta is an important, unique organ that forms in women at the onset of pregnancy. The placenta provides a connection between mother and child, providing him with everything he needs. This is a conductor of nutrients and other valuable components for its normal development.
Development of the placenta begins towards the end of the 7th week of pregnancy. The ninth week is characterized by the fact that the placenta begins to control the metabolism of the expectant mother, completing its formation by the 15th week. Around the 37th week, the “aging” of the placenta begins, signaling that the baby will soon be born. The placenta, on the one hand, is connected to the mother’s body, attaching to the uterus, and the other side is connected to the child through the umbilical cord.
The placenta has a very important, as it provides the child with all the necessary substances.
The placenta is responsible for the following functions:
- Gas exchange - providing the fetus with oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.
- Feeding - useful material from the mother's body are filtered and brought to an easily digestible stage. Nutrients that are not absorbed are returned back to the expectant mother.
- Immune function - protects the fetus from infection and toxic substances by producing hormones: progestin, estrogen, hCG.
What to do with the placenta after childbirth
The placenta plays a big role even after childbirth.If childbirth occurs without pathologies, the mother’s body gives birth to the placenta a few minutes after the birth of the child. Previously, the placenta was disposed of after birth, but now many people decide to store it frozen in special storage facilities. Why are they doing that? Let's figure it out.
Humanity has known the unique healing qualities of the placenta since ancient times. Chinese healers had dried placenta powder in their healing arsenal, thanks to which the menopause period passes less noticeably.
For some time now, modern cosmetologists and doctors have also taken up the development of placenta-based drugs. Placental cosmetics is in high demand due to its healing and restorative properties. This is not surprising - the placenta contains vitamins, minerals and other useful microelements. Only a small percentage of the placenta is included in the composition of these cosmetics, bringing visible positive cosmetic effects.
In the early 2000s, the Kiev Institute of Cell Therapy offered an innovative service - cryopreservation of the placenta. Now anyone can deposit the placenta for storage in special storage facilities so that they can use it if necessary.
Stem cells that are isolated from umbilical cord blood are known to many. But the placental tissue itself contains a very high percentage of stem cells; its quantity can save the lives of tens of thousands of people!
The process of isolating stem cells is quite complex and labor-intensive; only a few scientific institutions around the world can do it. Ukraine does not stand aside, also conducting research in this area.
In addition to stem cells, the placenta includes regulatory proteins. When they enter the body, they activate their own stem cells. This starts the healing of the internal tissues of the human body, helping the body restore lost functions.
Placenta extract is a powerful immunomodulator, incomparable to any other effective means, stimulating human immunity.
The substances that make up the placenta provide an amazing rejuvenating effect: wrinkles are smoothed out, skin tone improves, dark spots, acne, etc.
The placenta is used in practical medicine for:
- Treatment of oncology diseases;
- To correct immunity;
- Normalize the mechanisms of blood formation;
- Treatments chronic fatigue;
- Treatment of various infections.
Throughout pregnancy, the placenta develops along with the baby. Special attention On the mother's side, this organ does not get it. After the birth of a child, many women do not notice the delivery of the placenta at all. However, this is a very significant organ thanks to which the child develops.
We will tell you in this article what happens to the placenta after childbirth and what functions it performs.
The placenta is the placenta (afterbirth) that connects the body of mother and child. The placenta is attached to the body of the uterus by blood vessels; it is connected to the body of the child with the help of the umbilical cord. Inside the umbilical cord there are 2 arteries that carry blood from the fetus to the placenta. And 1 vein, which serves to transport oxygen and nutrients from the placenta to the fetus.
The afterbirth performs certain functions throughout pregnancy:
- Gas exchange (oxygen delivery to the fetus). Oxygen molecules pass through the mother's blood to the fetus, carbon dioxide is transported in the opposite direction.
- Delivery of nutrients to the child: water, vitamins, electrolytes. Removal of fetal metabolic products through the mother's blood.
- Production of hormones to support pregnancy and lactation.
- Fetal immune defense function. The placenta passes maternal antibodies through itself, which form the child’s immune defense.
The baby's place develops along with the child and leaves the uterus after the birth of the baby.
Birth of the placenta
5-40 minutes after the birth of the child, the placenta is born. Contractions of the uterus lead to a decrease in the placental area to which the baby's place was attached. After several contractions, the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus, and the obstetrician asks the woman in labor to push slightly. The placenta is born painlessly and fairly quickly.
After removing the placenta, the doctor carefully examines it. If a violation of the integrity of the placenta is detected, this may mean that pieces of membranes remain in the uterine cavity. They must be urgently removed from the uterine cavity to prevent the development of the inflammatory process. Manual examination of the uterus is performed under anesthesia.
The progress of pregnancy can be judged by how the afterbirth looks. Infectious or inflammatory processes will be visible in the condition of the child's place. This important information for neonatologists and pediatricians who monitor the health of the newborn.
What happens to the placenta after childbirth
Most women don’t even think about the fate of the baby’s place after childbirth. In fact, nothing special happens. The placenta is a biological material that must be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of a given medical institution.
In some cases, the placenta is preserved as prescribed by a doctor. This may be necessary in case pathological childbirth. And in the event of a stillbirth, the placenta must be submitted for histological examination to determine the causes of the incident.
Video: Histology of the placenta
Sometimes, with the consent of the mother, the placenta is preserved for laboratory research. The woman can take it home if she wants. Collection of umbilical cord blood and stem cells is a fairly expensive procedure, but it is possible by prior arrangement.
Some cultures have a special attitude towards the placenta after childbirth. For example, according to one of the signs, the placenta is buried under a tree in the courtyard of a house. People believe that the tree as a symbol of strength will bring the child good health and happiness. Whether this is true or not depends on what a person believes.
There is a legend that if you eat the placenta after childbirth, it helps to establish lactation and quickly restores a woman’s strength after childbirth. The placenta is essentially a piece of human flesh. Perhaps in ancient times, when the only source of meat for lunch was a killed mammoth, this was relevant. But now a woman can easily organize her diet without this.
Today, every woman knows from hearsay or personal experience what childbirth is and how it happens. But despite the openness of the topic, there are still many uncertainties regarding the issue of childbirth. One of the most mysterious topics in discussion labor activity are issues related to the placenta. What are the features of tissue separation, where the placenta is sent upon completion of labor. And is it necessary to take the placenta home after childbirth?
What is a child's place
The placenta is the place where the baby lives and develops in the uterus during the nine months of pregnancy. It is through the placental tissue that the child receives all the vital microelements, vitamins and oxygen for full development. After the baby is born, the membrane comes out and, as gynecologists say, it is also born. If the course of labor is not complicated, the placenta comes out immediately after the baby.
The fate of the children's place
There are many myths and assumptions about the fate of the children's place. For example, in some African tribes It is customary to eat the afterbirth immediately during childbirth. Moreover, the mother of the child should eat it; according to African aborigines, this gives the woman in labor strength and restores nutrients lost during pregnancy in the body.
In our country, there are opinions that at the end of childbirth, the baby’s place is sent to special laboratories, where its tissues are made cosmetical tools. There is also a widespread rumor that placental tissue is used to obtain stem cells for human cloning purposes.
However, in reality everything is much simpler. Judging by the answers of Elena Berezovskaya, who is a specialist in the field of gynecology and the author of dozens of specialized books, nothing is done from the child’s place and placental tissue in most cases is simply disposed of. Exceptions include tissues that are sent for histological examination. This occurs in the case of birth complications, stillbirths and pathologies. Also, tissues can be preserved at the insistence of the obstetrician for further research as when training staff. In this case, permitting documents are not required from the woman in labor and the woman simply does not know about the subsequent fate of this organ.
