Placenta

During the nine months of pregnancy, the baby does not use its lungs to breathe, but does so through the mother. In fact, their lungs will take a long time to mature, and it won't be until birth that they start working.

It is not the first time nor unfortunately it will be the last that experts insist on the importance of avoiding tobacco during pregnancy as it is associated with problems for the baby. Well, a new study carried out by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal), in collaboration with Emory University, Atlanta (United States), reinforces the idea by finding an association between maternal smoking, placental DNA methylation and a worse labor outcome.

As we know, hormones are responsible for the changes that a woman's body undergoes during pregnancy, from physical changes to that roller coaster of emotions that we can feel, where the sensitivity that many of us experience particularly stands out.

Exercise is healthy in all stages of life, and it is also healthy during pregnancy. If the mother practices moderate physical activity, this has a beneficial impact on a physical and psychological level for both her and the baby.

The placenta is an organ that forms inside the uterus during pregnancy and helps nourish the baby and filter excess waste that is generated during the gestation months. As the pregnancy progresses, the placenta evolves, and in its evolution the placenta can be classified into four degrees of maturity: 0, I, II and III.

The World Health Organization explains that although some pregnant women are at increased risk of developing severe Covid-19, it is not yet known for sure whether an infected pregnant woman can transmit the virus to the baby during pregnancy or delivery.

In my first pregnancy, and during the ultrasound at 20 weeks, the doctor diagnosed me with placenta previa. I suppose that like the vast majority of new mothers, I was unaware of the term: it is an abnormal implantation of the placenta over the internal cervical os, in the lower part of the uterus (when it is normal for it to do so towards one of the walls of the uterus). uterus). At that moment I learned that I had a high probability of needing a cesarean section and that I would have to take things very calmly, since this situation could bring complications for both the baby and myself.

The placenta acts as a protective barrier for the baby during pregnancy and its normal structure is different from that of any other human organ. This is how forceful researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge are, who claim that it resembles that of a tumor and that it harbors many of the same genetic mutations found in childhood cancers.