The placenta (pl.: placentas or placentae) is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between the physically separate maternal and fetal circulations, and is an important endocrine organ, producing hormones that regulate both maternal and fetal ...
The placenta is your baby’s lifeline. This pancake-shaped organ connects your baby to your body via the umbilical cord, delivering nutrients, oxygen, and removing waste — all while keeping harmful germs at bay. It does a lot more than you might think. Forming early in pregnancy, the placenta also produces crucial hormones and supports your baby’s development until delivery, playing an ...
The placenta is the temporary life support system of pregnancy. Discover its structure, vital functions, health risks, and post-delivery fate.
Learn about the placenta’s role in pregnancy, how it develops and functions, what it blocks, how it’s monitored, and its delivery after your baby is born.
Yale Environment 360: ‘Serotonin shield’: The placenta’s critical role in the health of babies
Medical Xpress: A serotonin shield rather than a source: Revisiting the placenta's critical role in the health of babies
A serotonin shield rather than a source: Revisiting the placenta's critical role in the health of babies
The placenta has several key functions, like providing nutrients to the fetus and releasing hormones. Learn more about this temporary organ.
The placenta is an organ that forms in the womb, also called the uterus, during pregnancy. The placenta is connected to a developing baby by a tubelike structure called the umbilical cord. Through the umbilical cord, the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing baby. It also removes waste from the baby's blood.