The following symptoms and complaints may indicate placental insufficiency (placental insufficiency):
Leading symptoms
- Acute placental insufficiency
- Bleeding
- Breast hard, highly pressured uterus/painful uterus (Couvelaire’s uterus = hematoma spread/spreading of a hematoma into the uterine musculature/muscle of the uterus visible during sectio (cesarean section)) with premature, partial, or total placental abruption
- Fetal bradycardia (drop in fetal (“fetal”) heart rate below 110/min demonstrated in CTG/heartbeat labor waveform).
- Amniotic death
- Intrauterine (in the uterus).
- Intrapartum (during birth)
- Pathological cardiotocogram/cardiac tone labor waveform (CTG).
- Retroplacental hematoma (bruise located posterior to the placenta).
- Chronic placental insufficiency
- Fetal growth retardation (infantile growth retardation) on ultrasound
- Pathological CTG
- Pathological (“pathological”) Doppler sonography (medical imaging technique that can dynamically visualize fluid flows (especially blood flow)).
Associated symptoms
- Acute placental insufficiency
- In cases of premature placental abruption:
- Coagulation disorders
- Hypotension (low blood pressure)
- Shock symptomatology
- In cases of premature placental abruption:
- Chronic placental insufficiency
- Fundal level (upper edge of uterus) lower than corresponding to the gestational week
- Pathological CTG
- Placental calcifications (placental infarctions)
- Reduced amniotic fluid
- Symphysis-fundus distance (SFA; measured with a measuring tape from the pubic bone (symphysis) to the uppermost point of the uterus (fundus uteri)) lower than corresponding to the week of pregnancy
- Decreased fetal movements
