Why does a single fetus have two placentas

When a baby is born, there is something called a placenta. This thing is very nourishing and many people are attracted to it. The placenta is actually the place where the baby stores food when it is connected to the fetus in the mother's belly through the umbilical cord. It can be seen how important the role of the placenta is. But what about some single babies who are found to have two placentas?

The placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus and connected to the fetus through the umbilical cord. It is the only food supply for the exchange of substances between the fetus and the mother. The fetus can obtain the nutrients and oxygen necessary for development from the mother through the placenta, and excrete metabolic waste through the placenta. However, abnormal placenta shapes often appear. If the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterine horn during conception, a double placenta, a kidney-shaped placenta, a horseshoe-shaped placenta, or a deep groove will form on the placenta. If the chorionic villi develop around the gestational sac, a long and thin placenta will be formed, which is medically called a membranous placenta. The gestational sac is implanted in the correct location, but due to inflammatory lesions of the uterine mucosa at the implantation site, an accessory placenta will be formed. These placentas of different shapes are all abnormal placentas. It is easy for it to remain in the uterine cavity during delivery, which is one of the important causes of intrapartum and postpartum bleeding and infection. Therefore, it is possible for a single pregnancy to have two placentas.

Suspected accessory placenta refers to the development of one or more placental lobules in the fetal membrane at a distance from the main placenta. The accessory placenta is connected to the main placenta by blood vessels of fetal origin. The accessory placenta receives fetal blood circulation through the fetal membrane between the accessory lobe and the main placenta via medium-sized chorionic blood vessels. Another possibility is that it was a twin pregnancy and one survived. Early caesarean section is recommended.

If two placentas are seen during delivery but only one baby is born, there could be many reasons, such as accessory placenta, which is one large placenta and one small placenta; or the placenta may be irregular in shape and break into two during delivery; or one of the twins may die very early in the uterus but the placenta continues to develop.