5 Things To Know About The Placenta, Your Most Important Pregnancy Organ

Pregnancy makes the human body do the most incredible things. Not only does it protect, grow, and nourish your baby (or babies) over a 9 month period, it also creates an intricate and critically important organ, basically from scratch: the placenta.

It’s the only temporary organ in the human body, specifically made to support a pregnancy and fully expelled from the body during childbirth. Its growth is as critical as your baby’s growth in fostering a healthy pregnancy, and even though it’s temporary, it might be the most important organ in your body at this time.

The placenta functions as a lifeline to your baby. This is where you send all of your blood, oxygen, and nutrients, which are then safely transferred to your baby. It keeps you both in a delicate balance with one another. The good news is, everything you do to support the health of your baby (and everything we coach in the Baby2Body app when it comes to stress management, diet, and exercise) will directly benefit the health of your placenta.

Now, there is a lot that researchers still don’t know about the placenta, and because of that in 2014, the NIH established the Human Placenta Project as a collaborative research effort to better understand the function of the placenta and the role it could play in human health and disease. But there are many things we do know about the placenta that showcases just how incredible this organ actually is. We’ve rounded up 5 surprising things you may not know about your placenta, but should!

5 things to know about the placenta

1. Your placenta is like 4 organs in one

The placenta is unique from any other organ in your body. What’s remarkable about it is that it serves the purpose of multiple organs and bodily systems at once for your growing baby. It acts as lungs, transferring oxygen from your blood to your baby. It acts as kidneys, helping remove impurities and excrete waste. It acts as the immune system, protecting your baby from potential infection. Plus, it functions as the endocrine system, secreting hormones for both you and your baby that help manage overall functioning.

2. The placement of your placenta can impact how baby's movements feel

Your placenta attaches to the uterine wall, but exactly where it attaches can vary from pregnancy to pregnancy, and that can lead to different experiences. Usually, the placenta is found at the top or on either side of the uterus. Sometimes, the placenta attaches to the bottom of the uterus near the opening of the cervix, which can develop into a condition called placenta previa, which your doctor will need to monitor and help you manage.

When the placenta attaches to the front of the uterus it is called an anterior placenta. This placement is fairly common and isn’t usually dangerous for you or your baby, but it can impact a few key things. For one, it may take you a little longer to feel baby’s kicks, as the placenta can act as an extra cushioning layer between baby and your abdominal wall. The other thing to be aware of is that healthcare professionals may have more difficulty locating your baby’s heartbeat when it’s behind the placenta, so it may take a bit longer during your scans.

Your healthcare professional will also assess baby’s position and development by touching the abdomen throughout pregnancy, and an anterior placenta may make it a bit more difficult to locate baby at first. Lastly, if you’re having amniocentesis, an anterior placenta placement can cause an inconvenience but your doctor will be able to offer strategies around this.

3. Paternal genes play a big role in the placenta

Your placenta doesn’t just contain maternal cells. The placenta develops out of your fertilized egg, meaning it contains both paternal and maternal genetic components — just like your baby. An animal-based study conducted by Cornell researchers found that in the placenta, paternal genes actually appear to dominate, which has allowed scientists to better understand how this transient organ develops and what could go wrong, even in human populations. It’s just another example of how paternal health can have a significant impact on a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby.

4. The placenta transfers fetal stem cells back to the mother

Fetal stem cells have been found in maternal blood, bones, tissues, and organs even years after pregnancy. It’s suggested that the stem cells that are critical to fetal development are able to be transferred back to the mother through the placenta. What’s even cooler is that these stem cells are often found in areas where the mother has experienced tissue damage or injury. Since stem cells can develop into a wide variety of tissues, they are believed to play a role in long-term maternal health and disease.

5. The placenta is a nutrient-rich organ, however consuming it has not been linked to any proven benefits

Placentophagy is the act of consuming the placenta after birth, whether through encapsulation or other methods. It has been in practice in many cultures for years and has recently gained more widespread interest. The suggestion is that consuming the placenta can help reduce a mother’s risk of postpartum depression, increase overall energy, and support milk production. While that all sounds great, it is important to know that placentophagy has not shown any scientific evidence of improving maternal health. However, if it is something you are interested in you can learn more on this post, What Are Placenta Pills & Are They Actually Good For You?

Do you have more questions about the health and functioning of your placenta during pregnancy? Let us know in the comments below!

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