All right. So in today's podcast, we're going to be going over a couple high-yield complications

related to pregnancy. This is going to be the first of a few podcasts I plan on making on pregnancy

related complications. Thank you, everybody, for the support, the really nice comments, the five-star

reviews on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I truly do appreciate it. Thank you so much. Let's go ahead and get started. So let's start with placental abruption, aka abruptio placente. What is this? Well, it's a partial or complete separation of the placenta

at or after 20 weeks of gestation. So we have this premature separation of the placenta from the uterus.

We'll talk about why this happens in a moment, but first let's talk about timing. So why is timing so important?

Why is it generally only considered a placental eruption if it occurs after 20 weeks?

Well, if this happens prior to 20 weeks, in that case, it's usually considered to be part

of a spontaneous abortion rather than an eruption, except for some rare cases.

And then it also has to be prior to fetal expulsion,

and this part is pretty obvious. After the fetus is delivered, the placenta naturally separates

from the wall of the uterus, and so this is no longer an abnormal finding. So again, timing,

it's after 20 weeks and prior to delivery of the fetus. All right, so we have this placental

abruption, this separation of the placenta. Why is this happening? Well, it's due to a rupture of maternal vessels in something called the decidua basalis. So this is the main area to focus on for patho. Thrombin also plays a role with the clinical consequences seen, contractions, tissue breakdown, etc. But rupture of the maternal vessels and the

decidua basalis is what you need to know. So quick anatomy review. The placenta is where the

nutrient and gas exchange occurs between the mother and the fetus. It has two sides, the baby side

called the Corion, and the mother's side, the decidua basalis, which is attached to the uterine wall.

The decidua basalis contains the maternal blood vessels, arteries, and veins that supply oxygen

rich blood to the fetus.

In a placental abruption, the vessels in the decidua basalis, mom's side, become damaged

or weakened, which causes them to rupture, which obviously leads to significant bleeding,

causing a hematoma. And all of this just pushes the uterine wall and placenta apart.

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