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From: peter@graffiti.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: placenta previa
Message-ID: <234@graffiti.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Sep-85 07:50:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: graffiti.234
Posted: Tue Sep 24 07:50:43 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Sep-85 04:22:00 EDT
References: <866@druxp.UUCP> <135@pyuxv.UUCP>
Organization: The Power Elite, Houston, TX
Lines: 61

>pyuxv!craig
> >??
> >I am 15 weeks pregnant, and... learned that I have what's called 
> >placenta previa. From the little I've been able to read on it (no
> >books I have have more than a paragraph on it) it does not sound like
> >a very good thing. In fact, it sounds very bad.
> >Does anyone have any information on this? My doctor did not spend
> >much time with me...
>  
> It is unfortunate that your Dr. [OB/GYN?] is keeping information
> about your condition to her/himself.  If he/she is not more
> [more flames about bad doctors & malpractice suits]

That's a pretty information-free posting, Craig. If you can't answer the
question hit 'n' instead of 'f'. Or at least hit 'r'.

Now then, we just purchased a few good books on pregnancy, and according to
one that has a fairly large section on complications:

"Placenta Previa:

	"In this condition some or all of the placenta is lying in the lower
part of the uterus, either close to the cervix or even over it. Placenta
Previa occurs in between one in 100 or one in 200 births.

	"When most of the placenta is low-lying it can cause bleeding in the
last eight weeks of pregnancy (see Antepartum Hemmorhage). This bleeding is
sometimes enough to require blood transfusion. The bleeding is painless and
usually stops after a few hours of bed rest. It can recommence, however, and
patients who have had bleeding from a placenta previa are therefore safer if
they rest in the hospital until the baby is safely delivered.

	"The diagnosis of a placenta previa can be made with an ultrasound scan
which gives a picture of the placenta. Other methods are used in some hospit-
als: sometimes an X-ray is taken but this does not always clearly delineate the
placenta.

	"A placenta previa also prevents the baby's head from entering the
pelvis and prevents normal delivery. The obstruction means that the baby must
be delivered by cesarean section. This is usually performed early at 38 weeks
of pregnancy, as excessive bleeding may be a big problem if the pregnancy is
allowed to go to term.

	"If a placenta previa is suspected but it has not been possible to
confirm it during pregnancy, a vaginal examination is carried out under an
anesthetic at 38 weeks and a cesarean section is done only if the placenta is
found lying over the cervix. This vaginal examination is not done earlier as
the examination could in itself start more bleeding.

	"Sometimes only one edge of the placenta is in the lower part of the
uterus. In this case it may be drawn up and out of the way in labor, permitting
a vaginal delivery without any extra blood loss. If it does cause bleeding in
labor, however, a cesarian section will be necessary.

	"See doctor immediately "

				-- A New Life, Van Nostrand, 1979.
				   Edited by John T. Queenan, M.D.


Hope this helps, and good luck.