# Second Placenta?



## KrissyB

Hi all - I originally posted this in the Third trimester forum, but I thought I'd move it here given how things have progressed in the last 48 hrs: 

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So I just had my 36 week Ultrasound today. Everything went great, she's measure about a week ahead of schedule, a marginal previa I had at the last ultrasound cleared up, clean bill of health...
Except that the technician found an "Accesory lobe placenta". Basically, In addition to the main placenta that the baby is attached to, I have a smaller second placenta against my back. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I have a doctor's appointment on Friday so hopefully I can get some more info then, but I was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences to share.
I'm not really sure what causes it, what it means for L&D, what it means for DH, etc.
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UPDATE: So my OB ended up calling me in the evening after the ultrasound with some more information about this. Apparently there's a few things that can go wrong with this extra placenta. First of all, if you want to go with a vaginal birth, they have to make sure you deliver the second placenta or else you'll just keep hemorrhaging. This may require post-delivery emergency surgery, so all in all - it's a good thing I was already planning cesarean (in which case they'll just make sure it's all out before they put me back together).
However, the larger complication they have to watch out for is vasa previa. Apparently the two placentas are usually attached by connective tissue at some point. That tissue is full of blood vessels, and if it runs over the cervix it's a vasa previa. This condition is pretty serious, because then if your water breaks, it'll break those blood vessels, and you'll start bleeding, which can be extremely dangerous for both you and baby.

Long story short - I'm going in tomorrow for a "doppler" ultrasound at a maternal-fetal care specialist to find out if I have a vasa previa (my OB wanted it scheduled ASAP). If I do, they'll be moving up the c-sec date significantly in order to minimize any risk of me going into labor (and having my water break). There's really little information about this online, and what's there is fairly scary... so I'll keep this thread updated in case other people are searching for it down the line. :flower:


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## Baby321

good luck hun! I hope everything turns out well for you. Please keep us updated x


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## josephine3

Hmm.. Not heard of this. Got me a lil worried as at my last ultrasound the tech said i had an anterior placenta... On my notes the previous scans say posterior.. Im pretty sure they cant move, maybe i have 2? 
Good luck keep us updated x


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## KrissyB

josephine3 said:


> Hmm.. Not heard of this. Got me a lil worried as at my last ultrasound the tech said i had an anterior placenta... On my notes the previous scans say posterior.. Im pretty sure they cant move, maybe i have 2?
> Good luck keep us updated x

The placenta can definitely move around - a lot of people (myself included) can start off with a placenta previa earlier in pregnancy that moves by the time of delivery.... Not sure if it can move all the way from posterior to anterior, but it might be possible. Also, usually they catch a double placenta earlier on, mine was a little unusual that they caught it this late - but again, that may be because they were focused on the placenta previa so much before.

Also - I want to add that on another forum, a girl was diagnosed with an accessory lobe placenta, and the doctor told her it was nothing to worry about. Just something they had to keep in mind during delivery to make sure it all came out. So I guess each situation can be different. But I'll keep this updated with how things go on my end all the same.

Thanks for all the well wishes!


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## josephine3

Yeah u wud think they wud notice it at the 12 week scan... I know they can move up out the way of the cervix after being low, but surely not move back to front? I might query it at my 38 week growth scan just incase they've missed somethin. Will be checkin for updates good luck!


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## KrissyB

Ugh! So it was all just one big false alarm (this is the second scare we've had with this little girl so far, I'm starting to notice a trend lol)! I mean, I'm very happy that everything is fine now, but I could have done without the stress. 

Anyway - In my case, it turns out that I only have one placenta.... It's just wrapped around my side a little oddly. So if you view it from a certain angle, it looks like there's two. No sign of any placenta, blood vessels, or umbilicus that would complicate labor or delivery - so we're good to go for our scheduled c-section on August 17th (assuming she doesn't make an earlier appearance). :thumbup:


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## josephine3

Phew! Thats a relief for u. I was thinkin this about me, maybe its just wrapped around now we're bigger. How did they find out it was just one in the end? Really pleased for u x


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## KrissyB

Basically they carefully looked at each "end" and followed it around a few times to make sure that it always met together at the same mass (which is at my side). The specialist said he's seen ultrasound technicians make this mistake before on initial scans. So at least I'm not the only one.

I could see how the same kind of situation might apply to you (with them first just seeing it in the front, then a different tech/time notices it from the back first. Always worth double checking though! Good luck to you as well!


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## josephine3

Thanks I'll let u know what they say! X


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