Placenta Previa

A few weeks ago we visited a genetic doctor for a general consultation. We had a few questions about things in our family history and just wanted to chat with someone to make sure the jellybean wasn't at risk for anything (thankfully, she's not).

The consultation came with a sonogram, and that's when the doctor casually mentioned "your placenta is pretty low; you may want to avoid any aerobic activity for a while."

What the what?

We asked for more detail, but she said that she would send our regular doctor a note and that it probably wasn't anything to worry about. I asked what kind of exercise, and she rattled off just about every form of exercise I do: fast walking, running (haha I don't do this), pilates, any ab-work, etc.

Oh that's it? Great.

In the time between then and our next appointment, I googled the heck out of the issue, which I learned is called Placenta Previa when it gets really bad. Basically, your placenta is positioned low and can potentially block your uterus, which would in turn block the baby from being able to be delivered normally (ie need for a c-section).

This is a good visual explanation from BabyCenter:

[By the way, this is probably common knowledge, but google-ing medical things is never a good idea unless you want to stress yourself out. The outcome of whatever you are searching for is usually death. Okay, maybe not always, but a lot of the time.]

Anyway, fast-forward 2 weeks and we were in to see our normal doctor. We asked her about it, and she did confirm (via sono) that yes, my placenta is currently low, but she also said that it wasn't something to be worried about (yet). She said that often the placenta will move up (and out of the way) as the cervix grows. This should happen between now and about 20 weeks. If by 20 weeks it's still low, they reevaluate and then check again sometime in the 3rd trimester.

And then she casually mentions that I should avoid any strenuous activity.

Now I'm not a hardcore gymnast or anything, but I like my power-walks and have most definitely invested in some prenatal pilates videos that I have been intended to do the entire way through my pregnancy. I totally get that gaining an appropriate amount of weight goes along with a healthy pregnancy, but I really do think being active is important too.

The doctor went on to explain that when a patient's placenta is low, any super strenuous workouts should be avoided so that the placenta doesn't get disturbed. If it did get disturbed, it could cause bleeding, which would then make them consider best rest (and that's something I'd definitely like to avoid!).

[I didn't mention that I already knew all of this because of my aforementioned Google-ing. Trying to be a good patient here and not a crazy WebMD-er.]

So, my pilates ab workouts are on hold, though I do plan to keep up my stretches and workouts for other areas (arms, legs, etc.) I didn't run my 5k. And now when I walk, I do so at a slower pace (but I am still trying to get in a 30 minute walk each day!).

Our next appointment is at the end of the month (around the 18 week mark). Here's to hoping that my placenta scoots on up and out of the way!