Placenta what???

My insurance only covers one ultrasound, which is OK although it would be fun to see my baby more than once.  Don't tell my midwife, but I've been in to see my sister-in-law, Melanie, who's an ultrasound technician for another ultrasound.  It was quite fun and meant that we could add even more pictures of Nacho to our album. 

We went in for our monthly prenatal visit and Leissa told us, very cautiously, that we shouldn't be worried but that I had a very low-lying placenta.  I blankly stared at her.  I had never given much thought to my placenta before.  I had just recently found out that it looked like chopped liver and that it provided everything the baby needed.  It is the organ that attaches the baby to my uterus, it provides Nacho nutrients and immunity, and it secretes stuff that lets my body know not to attack my little parasite. 

The placenta looks like this:

As you can tell, it's sort of flat and round.  The word placenta comes from the Latin and means "cake."  I hope they were referring to the flat shape and not the fact that cake is delicious.

Many cultures view the placenta with deference.  Some people bury the umbilical cord and placenta to emphasize the relationship between humans and the earth while others, such as Kwakiutl of British Columbia do so so that the child can have skill in digging clams.  Native Hawaiians believe that the placenta is part of the baby and when they bury it, they plant a tree right above it so that it can grow with the baby.  Some cultures practice placentophagy - eating of the placenta.  And I've seen horse placenta as part of some shampoos that claim to make your hair thicker and fuller like a horse's (if you want that.)

Anyhow, like I said, I never gave much thought to my placenta.  But when I heard the news of what a low-lying placenta meant, I immediately thought of one of my friends who had placenta previa - the name for when your placenta covers the entire cervix - and who had to get a c-section because of it.  You never think that it could happen to you.  When faced with the reality of it, I panicked and immediately started thinking about all of my plans for having a natural birth and how I'd have to replan and actually read all the C-section parts in the pregnancy books. 

I guess Leissa saw the look on my face because she immediately started reassuring me that most placentas move upwards as the uterus expands.  Therefore, I need to have another ultrasound on the 31st of May, the day I get back from Denmark.  I console myself with the fact that hopefully, I'll be able to at least get some good pictures out of this ultrasound :)