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Placenta Previa
The Basics | Symptoms | Detection & Treatment
What Are the Symptoms?
The main symptom of placenta previa, and the greatest risk to you and your baby, is vaginal bleeding. If you have bled too much, other symptoms include anemia, pale skin, rapid and weak pulse, shortness of breath, or low blood pressure. The bleeding that signals placenta previa may occur at the end of the second trimester or beginning of the third trimester. It may be heavy or light.
It is usually painless, and it may happen without labor or during labor. Mothers with placenta previa are also at increased risk of delivering prematurely, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Call Your Doctor If:
You notice any bleeding during pregnancy.
Medically updated by Amos Grunebaum, MD, July 2005.
SOURCES: National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. "Abnormalities of Pregnancy," The Merck Manual, 2005, Section 18 Chapter 252.
SOURCES: National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. "Abnormalities of Pregnancy," The Merck Manual, 2005, Section 18 Chapter 252.
The Basics | Symptoms | Detection & Treatment
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