The word placenta was cointed in 1559 and stems from the Latin phrase meaning “circular cake”!

What is the Purpose of the Placenta?

The placenta is attached to your uterus and through the attached umbilical cord the placenta exchanges nutrients, wastes, oxygen and other gases with the baby. Whatever the mother ingests during pregnancy is passed through the placenta to the fetus.

By the third trimester the placenta looks like a disk, measuring about twenty cm in diameter and is about two to three inches thick!

What Happens to the Placenta?

The placenta is a temporary organ and you will deliver it after the baby is delivered. Your obgyn or midwife will examine the placenta to insure that all of it was delivered.