What is a calcified placenta?
The placenta plays a central role in pregnancy as it ensures the exchange of nutrients between mother and child. Its intactness is therefore of decisive importance for an uncomplicated course of the pregnancy. The expression “calcified placenta” is becoming increasingly common.
But what exactly is a calcified placenta and what are the consequences for pregnancy? Calcifications in the placenta are natural and develop during pregnancy. They are found particularly in the last weeks of pregnancy and develop as part of the natural aging process of the placenta. Calcifications can be detected by ultrasound examinations. There are three different degrees of calcification, depending on the degree of severity.
Causes
Many women ask themselves the question how calcifications in the placenta develop and what the causes for these changes are. In general, placental calcifications are simply part of the natural aging process of the placental tissue. The placenta only develops as an organ during pregnancy, so its lifespan is limited.
It is also designed to last only for this short period of time, so that it begins to deteriorate towards the end of pregnancy. This manifests itself through calcification. A calcified placenta towards the end of pregnancy is therefore quite normal.
Very severe or early calcifications, on the other hand, can occur in the context of other underlying diseases, such as infectious diseases, pre-eclampsia, diabetes mellitus or even autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus. Smoking also appears to play a role in early placental calcification. Smoking is one of the greatest risk factors for a dangerous course of pregnancy.
Smoking not only promotes thromboses and can thus be life-threatening for mother and child, but also disrupts the blood flow to the placenta and thus to the child, leads to fetal stress and massively impairs the healthy development of the unborn child. Smoking also has an unfavorable influence on the development of the placenta. Smoking can lead to premature calcification of the placenta.
In this context, circulatory disorders of the placenta also occur, which can result in so-called placental insufficiency. Placental insufficiency is a sub-function of the placenta in which no proper exchange of nutrients between mother and child can take place. However, this is essential for a healthy development of the child.
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