Functions and Roles Of The Placenta
For
nine months the placenta feeds and nourishes the fetus while also
disposing of toxic waste. Without it the baby could not survive. After
your baby is born, the placenta no longer serves a function.
Among organs, it is unique. It is the only organ in the human body that serves a vital function and then becomes obsolete.
What does the Placenta do?
The
placenta’s primary role is to ensure that oxygen is moved into your
baby’s blood stream and carbon dioxide is carried away from your baby –
however the waste is not limited to oxygen and also includes cleaning
out other waste which is produced by your baby. In the same way that it
ensures oxygen reaches your baby, it also plays a role in ensuring that
some nutrients are received.
The placenta is an extremely complex
piece of biological equipment. It is a little bit like an artificial
kidney, it allows your blood and the baby's to come into very close
contact - but without ever mixing. This enables your blood to pass
across nutrients and oxygen to the baby, and waste products like carbon
dioxide to go back from baby to mother. It acts as the lung, kidney and
digestive system for the baby.
The placenta also plays an important role in hormone production. Human chronic gonadotropin, or hCG
is produced by the placenta. This hormone can be found in your baby’s
blood stream as early as 10 days into your pregnancy. This is of course
not the only hormone which the placenta produces as it is also
responsible for the production of estrogen and progesterone .
The
placenta also performs the important function of protecting your baby
for possible infection – however, it is not always able to distinguish
between what is a good substance and what isn’t – and this is why
pregnant women are asked to avoid substances which may cause harm, such
as caffeine, alcohol, herbal substances and drugs. Read our article on what to avoid when pregnant for more.
How big does the Placenta get?
During
the course of your pregnancy we follow the growth and development of
your baby closely, but we never look at how the placenta is growing.
By week 10 of your pregnancy the placenta would already weigh in at ¾ ounce (20g) and by week 20 it will already be weighing in at 6 ounces (170g). At 30 weeks it's weighing 15 ounces (430g) and by the time your pregnancy is full term the placenta would weigh 1.5 pounds (650g)!
The Placenta, Possible Complications
Unfortunately
as important as the placenta is, it is also possible of causing
complications, and the two most common complications are placenta previa and placenta abruption.
