What does placenta grade O mean?

The placenta is an organ that only appears around the uterus when a woman is pregnant. Its main function is to connect the source of nutrition between the woman and the baby. If there is a problem with the placenta, it will affect the healthy growth of the baby. When going to the hospital for a prenatal check-up, the doctor will also check the maturity of the placenta for women. So what does it mean when the placenta test result is placenta grade O?

What does placental maturity grade 0 mean?

Grade 0 means the placenta is not yet mature. After pregnancy, as the gestational weeks increase, the placenta will also change from new to old, which is called placental maturity. In medicine, four grades are usually used to determine the level of placental maturity. Grade 0 indicates that the placenta is not yet mature, which is normal and usually occurs in the second trimester, around 12-28 weeks of pregnancy.

The placenta function is divided into 3 levels. Level 1 is the best and can provide good nutrition to the baby. Level 2 placenta begins to age, but it will not affect fetal absorption. Level 3 placenta means that the baby is about to be delivered.

Generally, the placenta reaches level 1 maturity between 30 and 32 weeks of gestation.

In the early stages of pregnancy, the biggest concern clinically is that the function of the placenta will age as the time passes. In other words, the longer the time passes, the greater the possibility of placental aging. If the placenta ages, it will not provide enough nutrients and oxygen to the fetus, which may cause fetal hypoxia. If the fetus is deprived of oxygen, it is likely to die in the womb or develop brain damage after birth.

Generally speaking, after 36 weeks of pregnancy, the placenta reaches level 2 maturity, indicating that the placenta has begun to mature. However, the placenta can mature prematurely. If a grade 3 placenta is found before 37 weeks and combined with the value of the biparietal diameter and the estimated fetal weight of 2500 grams, precocious placenta should be considered and the possibility of intrauterine growth retardation of the fetus should be alerted.

The more mature the placenta is, the better it is. It is good to have a corresponding placental maturity according to the pregnant stage of the woman, because the placenta is the key to supplying nutrition to the fetus. A prematurely mature placenta means that the placenta ages quickly, which can easily lead to insufficient oxygen supply to the fetus and even cause delayed growth and development of the fetus. By the end of pregnancy, the placenta is basically mature.