In placental insufficiency – colloquially called placental weakness – (O43.8 Other pathologic conditions of the placenta incl.: Placental infarction, Placental dysfunction, O43.9 Pathologic condition of placenta, unspecified) is not a disease, but rather a dysfunction of the placenta that results in an acute or slowly progressive (progressive) lack of oxygen to the fetus (unborn child). This prevents the fetus from reaching its growth potential.Forms of placental insufficiency:
- Acute placental insufficiency
- Chronic placental insufficiency
The incidence (frequency of new cases) is approximately 2-5% of all pregnancies.
Course and prognosis: acute placental insufficiency can lead to intrauterine amniotic death (stillbirth) within minutes to hours. It is associated with high morbidity (incidence of disease) and mortality (number of deaths in a given period of time, relative to the number of the population in question), e.g., premature placental (placental) abruption. Chronic placental insufficiency leads to intrauterine growth retardation (abnormal growth retardation). Perinatal morbidity and mortality (number of fetal deaths in the perinatal period/ stillbirths and deaths up to day 7 postpartum) are sometimes highly increased depending on the severity, gestational age, and maturity of the child.
The recurrence (relapse) rate is not known.
- Acute placental insufficiency: it is certainly very low because recurrence of causes such as premature placental abruption or umbilical cord complications are a rarity.
- Chronic placental insufficiency: the recurrence rate depends on the underlying cause such as hypertension (high blood pressure) or diabetes mellitus, and therefore on the quality of antenatal care.
