The placenta, a remarkable temporary organ crucial during pregnancy but discarded after birth, plays a vital role in supporting fetal growth and safeguarding against infection and inflammation. However, when issues arise with the placenta, it can tragically lead to the loss of a pregnancy.
While pregnancy losses can be devastating for expectant parents, they are, in fact, quite common. Out of the approximately 5 million pregnancies occurring in the United States each year, about 1 million result in miscarriage, defined as a loss before reaching 20 weeks of gestation. Additionally, roughly 20,000 pregnancies end in stillbirth during the later stages of gestation.
In many instances, following a pregnancy loss, doctors are unable to pinpoint a specific cause, leaving parents grappling with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, despite the fact that pregnancy loss is typically beyond their control.
Dr. Harvey Kliman, the head of the Reproductive and Placental Research Unit at the Yale School of Medicine, has dedicated his career to gaining a deeper understanding of the placenta and its connection to pregnancy loss. Dr. Kliman and his research team recently scrutinized 1,256 placentas linked to pregnancy loss. Their findings revealed that up to 90% of these losses could be attributed to factors such as the presence of a small or irregularly shaped placenta.
