For any concerns regarding anterior placenta, or any other pregnancy issue, please contact HealthDirect (Australia wide) on 1800 022 222 for 24 hour support. You should regularly consult with your own medical practitioner and in an emergency you should call 000.
What is an Anterior Placenta?
The embedding of the fertilised egg inside your uterus also sparks the development of your placenta. Anterior placenta means that it positions itself on the front wall of the womb, where your belly is, rather than posterior. You might be surprised to learn that this is actually more common than you would think – close to 50% of pregnancies involve an anterior placenta!
You’ll find out where your placenta is (along with a lot more information!) during your 20 week anomaly scan.
Whether your placenta is revealed to be on the front, back, top or side of the womb rest assured – these are all normal places for implantation and development. For the most part, an anterior placenta should present no problematic issues throughout your pregnancy and delivery.
Anterior Placenta may mean that you have a slight delay in when you feel your baby move.
The community feedback at the bottom of the page discusses when and how members felt their babies move if they had an anterior placenta placement during their own pregnancies.
What are the potential risks of having an Anterior Placenta?
Baby Hints and Tips would again like to stress the need to regularly consult with your medical team about any concerns you may have.
In certain studies (that do not necessarily speak for everyone who has this condition, it was revealed that the presence of an anterior placenta may:
- Increase your risk of hypertension
- Increase your risk of gestational diabetes
- Increase your risk of complications
Please note that this study is only indicative of the study group and does not necessarily mean that these things will happen to you. Consultation with your doctor and regular check ups will let you know what your individual situation is.
Baby Hints and Tips community advice about Anterior Placentas and baby movement
- My baby moved at around 18 weeks. Aysha
- I’m 23 weeks and I only started feeling the baby at 20 weeks. However, I now feel her all the time. Sonia
- I am 7 months pregnant. Baby is super active and I feel everything. I was worried as the doctor said I would not be able to feel or see movements like in my previous pregnancy. The second baby is moving even more than my first since I was 5 months. Geraleen
- I felt my baby move at 16 weeks. Leisa
- I felt my baby move at around 20 weeks. I became panicked at the end when movements are harder to feel because they have less room. I couldn’t feel her at all for a few days so I went to the hospital. Brook
- I felt movement at 23 weeks. Lisa
- I felt movement at around 25 weeks but there was no regular pattern. Ina
- When I was pregnant with my son I hardly ever felt him unless I laid down on my side and felt it with my hand. It can be very stressful not being able to feel them all the time but try not to worry. Bethany
- I felt movement at 22 weeks. Pip
- 19 weeks. Pru
- I felt it at 16 weeks. I felt my first pretty early on so was surprised that I didn’t feel my second until much later. I was told I had an anterior placenta this time around. I felt movements every now and then but could go days without feeling kicks. Once the baby got bigger I felt the kicks constantly! Chantelle
- No strong kicks until around 20 weeks. Danielle
- I had two anterior placenta pregnancies. It was super annoying because sometimes movements were difficult to feel. I just got used to what became the norm. Go and get checked if movements are reduced significantly – don’t risk it. Natasha
- I had an anterior placenta and only felt the baby move twice during the entire pregnancy. Toni
- With my baby I didn’t feel her move until very late. Being my third pregnancy, I had expected it to be much earlier. Due to other issues I had ultrasounds every week so I could see my baby kicking around, I just couldn’t feel it due to my placenta placement. Amanda
- I had an anterior placenta with both of my pregnancies. I felt movement from 19/20 weeks with number 1 and 18 weeks with number 2. I felt daily movement with both. I found that I saw and felt more movement in the middle of my belly with number 1. With number 2, I feel stronger kicks and hits towards my groin and ribs. Both of my children were born naturally. Bronwen
Have you had an Anterior Placenta?
Would you like to share your experiences to help add to this wealth of community knowledge? Let us know in the comments.
