The placenta is normally expelled or removed from the body after delivery. This occurs during the third stage of labor in vaginal births. People who have a retained placenta (when the placenta is not delivered within 30 minutes after birth) may experience certain post-delivery complications like bleeding or infection.
The placenta develops wherever the fertilized egg embeds in your uterus. This leads to a range of possible locations:
- Anterior position (on the front wall of your uterus, closest to the belly)
- Posterior position (on the back wall of your uterus, closest to the spine)
- Fundal position (on the top wall of your uterus)
- Lateral position (on the right or left side of your uterus)
- Low-lying placenta (low in the uterus, near to or partially covering the internal cervical os)
- Placenta previa (extending over the internal cervical os)