What Happens in the Delivery Room After Labor is Over?

All women, no matter who they are, go through the same general process after labor, as long as the birth was uneventful from a medical perspective. The cord is clamped and cut and baby is placed on your chest. ... read more »

Antibacterial Products May Promote Nasal Staph Infections

Triclosan is a synthetic compound used in many personal care products labeled as antibacterial. It is considered safe to use, however, recent studies suggest otherwise. ... read more »

How Marijuana, Cannabis and CBD Affect Fertility and Pregnancy

See what the major medical organizations advise. ... read more »

Diabetes and the First Trimester of Pregnancy

Women who have diabetes are at an increased risk for complications during pregnancy, including increased risk of birth defects or fetal death. These risks can be minimized by planning pregnancy ahead with the help of your obstetrician and primary diabetes care provider. ... read more »

What Is Placenta Previa?

A placenta previa is a placenta that is implanted at or close to the internal os (mouth) of the cervix.
 Placenta previa happens in about 1 in 200 pregnancies. ... read more »

New Studies Confirm Importance of Placenta for Pregnancy Health

The placenta is one of the most mystifying organs in the human body. It is the only organ that can be grown in an adult body and every child’s life depends on it. Study of the placenta is difficult. ... read more »

Is it Safe to Eat Your Placenta?

While most existing data on postpartum placental consumption is anecdotal and not scientific, there are many cultures who view placental ingestion as an essential part of the postpartum period. ... read more »

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Suffer Pregnancy Loss After Placenta Complications

Model Chrissy Teigen announced late yesterday on Instagram that she and husband John Legend, lost their baby due to complications with the placenta. Learn more about placenta complications. ... read more »

Low Sodium Diets for Managing Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

When you are diagnosed with gestational hypertension, you may wonder if following a low sodium diet which is otherwise known to reduce blood pressure may be helpful. ... read more »

Eating the Placenta - Placentophagia

The placenta is a fetal organ consisting of an umbilical cord, membranes (chorion and amnion), and placental body. The placenta is a unique pregnancy organ which functions to sustain nutrition for the developing fetus. ... read more »

Umbilical Cord Information and Anomalies

The umbilical cord transports blood and nutrients between the placenta and the fetus and back. ... read more »

Hyperemesis Gravidarum and Second Trimester Complications

A recent study published in BJOG claims second trimester hyperemesis gravidarum may be associated with pregnancy complications involving the placenta. While evidence backs study author claims, the editor of BJOG is not sold on the importance of the study. ... read more »

Umbilical Cord Information

The umbilical cord is a narrow, tube-like structure that connects the developing baby (also referred to, in medical terms, as the fetus) to the placenta and transports blood and nutrients between the fetus and the placenta. ... read more »

How Mom Can Pass Stress to Her Baby Through Placenta

Mothers may pass stress onto their babies two different ways, according to new studies. Findings show that mothers could pass the damaging effects of stress onto their newborns through their placentas and through bacteria in their vaginas. ... read more »

Hormones Impact Stress, Memories, Understanding Social Cues

New research shows an unexpected link between sex hormones and cognitive function, such as memory and interpreting social cues, in females. ... read more »

Understanding Placenta Creta, Accreta, Increta, and Percreta

A placenta creta, accreta, increta, or percreta is a placenta that grows during pregnancy into or through the uterus. Having this condition is life-threatening and requires expert medical care. ... read more »

Third Stage of Labor

Giving birth to a new baby is about more than just active labor, contractions and pushing. The placenta needs to pass out of the uterus and vagina after delivery. ... read more »

Placenta Grade

Grading of the placenta can be done by ultrasound and by looking and how much calcifications there are in the placenta. A grade 3 placenta, for example, is normal at 40 weeks. ... read more »

Abruptio Placentae (Placental Abruption)

An abruptio placentae (i.e. placental abruption) is the separation of the normally located placenta before the baby is born and after the 20th week of the pregnancy. ... read more »

Facts About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time in life when women feel closer to their spouse and body more than ever before. Here are a few facts about pregnancy for expecting moms. ... read more »

Placenta Testing Reveals Possible Preeclampsia Marker

Researchers testing placentas after infant births may have found a gene marker. The gene is associated with the immune system and may be the cause of some cases of preeclampsia. ... read more »

6 Stages During Pregnancy: The Changing Female Body

Stages during pregnancy are often divided up into weeks or trimesters. Within these common stages in pregnancy are six major times of change. ... read more »

Malaria Tricks Female Immune System to Attack Fetus

Malaria hides in the female body, almost camouflaged, and waits to attack the placenta without alarming the female immune system. ... read more »

Dealing with an Expanding Tummy

Stretching skin and moving organs are not pleasant all the time, but the woman can rest assured everything will move back into its normal space after the baby is born. ... read more »

Placenta Works Like Embryonic Oxygen Tank

Professor John Aplin has discovered that the developing placenta absorbs and collects oxygen and slowly releases it into the embryo. It works as an oxygen holding tank. ... read more »

Placenta May Hold Key to Early Autism Diagnosis

Researchers recently published a study that could hold the key to early diagnosis of autism, giving parents and clinicians time to plan treatment and provide the best care imaginable for children with autism. The key is in the placenta. ... read more »

Educating About Placental Complications Using the Web

Researchers from Toronto recently completed a study into the impact of web-based medical information on high-risk pregnant patients. ... read more »

Obesity May Impair Fetal Nutrition and Health

The womb is the safest environment on earth. The fetus is warm, safe and well-fed during pregnancy, but according to a new clinical study, the womb of an obese woman is not as healthy as that of a woman of normal weight. ... read more »

Protein Responsible for Cell-Cell Fusion Revealed

In healthy human tissues, cell-cell fusion is uncommon, but this fusion is necessary for placental development during pregnancy. Researchers have long searched for some idea or indication explaining how the body promotes cell-cell fusion during pregnancy. ... read more »

Placental Blood Flow and T2 Relaxation Times

In the April 2013 edition of Placenta, researchers from King'sCollege Hospital in London report a connection between placental T2relaxation times in the second trimester and risk of giving birth to asmall for gestational age (SGA) infant. ... read more »

Preeclampsia: A Battle Not a Condition

Researchers and doctors are constantly on the lookout for a definitive cause of preeclampsia. The condition is life-threatening and the only known cure is childbirth. ... read more »

Pregnenolone Production in the Early Trophoblast

A new study published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics links the early placenta to pregnenolone production. Research was completed by authors from the New York University School of Medicine. ... read more »

Placenta Development and Pregnancy Complications

Scientists are a step closer to understanding how a healthy placenta develops and why some pregnancy complications occur. ... read more »

Why Does My Doctor Test Alkaline Phosphatase?

Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme that removes phosphates from various molecules in the body, including proteins and alkaloids. This blood test is often ordered as part of a liver health screening. ... read more »

Premature Births with Stress-Related Premature Aging of Placenta

Premature births are the subject of many scientific studies, including a recent one that links stress-related premature aging of the placenta to premature rupture of the placental membranes. ... read more »

Treatment of Acute Respiratory Infections During Pregnancy is Vital

Researchers published a study in Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology showing a connection between acute respiratory infection and inflammatory infiltration of the placenta. ... read more »

New Understanding of Preeclampsia May Lead to Future Drug Therapies

Preeclampsia 'has puzzled scientists for year." But lead research scientist's discoveries offer hope for drug therapies that could be used in the future to treat preeclampsia before any harm is done. ... read more »

Clinical Features of Monochorionic Monoamniotic Twins

Researchers from the Osaka Medical Center recently published a study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research reviewing the most common complications and causes of fetal risk/death in cases of MM twins. ... read more »

Evolution Insight to Leading Cause of Death During Delivery

The most common cause of death during or after childbirth is a hemorrhage. Nearly 125,000 women die from hemorrhage each year during childbirth, leading researchers to look into possible causes or markers that could shed light on why hemorrhage occurs. ... read more »

Alcohol in First Trimester of Pregnancy Harms Placenta

The link between a pregnant woman's drinking and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is clearly established but 30% to 60% of all pregnant women in the world still consume alcohol while pregnant. ... read more »

Does Eating Your Placenta Have Any Real Health Benefit?

Very few scientific studies have explored any benefits or risks. We’re left with the “perceived benefits,” according to Dr. Crystal Clark, who has reason to question if placentophagy is all that. ... read more »

Gauging Placental Health via Ultrasound

The placenta is the organ that supplies all the oxygen and nutrients the growing fetus needs. ... read more »

Roll of Progesterone in Fertility, Pregnancy and Corpus Luteum

Progesterone is a steroid hormone initially secreted by the corpus luteum, an area in the ovary which develops after ovulation. ... read more »

Bleeding Behind the Placenta

I just had an ultrasound and the doctor found a blood clot next to the placenta. Is that a problem? Should I be on bed rest? Is retroplacental hemorrhage a problem? ... read more »

The Placenta Is Different in Boys or Girls

Boys are different than girls. Even their placentas are different. ... read more »

Placentophagia or Eating Placenta After Birth

Placentophagia (or eating the placenta) is when someone, usually the mother, eats the placenta after birth. ... read more »