Placenta

Though often forgotten, the placenta has a huge role in baby’s health

Research in mice draws attention to the importance of the often-overlooked organ

ELIZABETH QUILL

12:30pm, April 24, 2018

• 
• 
• 
• 

TREE OF LIFE  The placenta is a fetus’s lifeline throughout pregnancy. Some problems with embryo development may actually have roots in the placenta, recent research in mice suggests.

SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/SHUTTERSTOCK

I am not the first person who has considered composing poetry to the placenta. One writer begins: “Oh Lady Placenta! What a life you lived in magenta.” Another almost coos to the “constant companion, womb pillow friend.” It might sound like odd inspiration for verse, but it’s entirely justified.

This vital organ, which is fully formed by about 12 weeks, nurtures a growing fetus throughout pregnancy, offering oxygen, nutrients and antibodies and eliminating waste. The placental cells forge a deep connection between mom and baby, a symbolic early step in a lifelong bond./.../