Can health care practitioners predict the lifelong health of babies?
By what biological mechanisms does the social environment mold the growth and function of the placenta and determine
the health of the baby?
The Placenta as a Window to Maternal Vascular Health
Key points
Introduction
Maternal vascular malperfusion
Dedicual vasculopathy
Other maternal vascular malperfusion lesions
Maternal vascular malperfusion lesions and maternal vascular health
Summary
What Obstetricians Need to Know About Placental Pathology
Key points
Introduction
Indications for placental examination
General placental examination
Maternal vascular malperfusion
Fetal vascular malperfusion
Histologic acute chorioamnionitis
Villitis of unknown etiology/chronic villitis
Villitis caused by specific infectious organisms
Rare lesions with a high risk of recurrence
Summary
Immunology of the Placenta
Key points
Introduction
Immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface
Mechanisms of maternal immune tolerance and adaptation
Tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing family
Innate immune properties of the placenta
Summary and future directions
Diabetes Mellitus, Obesity, and the Placenta
Key points
The health problem—is the placenta involved?
Early pregnancy events
Later in pregnancy
At the end of pregnancy
Effects of preventive measures on the placenta
Areas for future research
The Placental Basis of Fetal Growth Restriction
Key points
Introduction
Summary
Placental Anatomy and Function in Twin Gestations
Key points
Introduction
Zygosity, chorionicity, and their clinical implications
Placental evaluation and injection studies
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome
Twin anemia-polycythemia sequence
Selective intrauterine growth restriction
Twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence
Summary
Placental Implantation Disorders
Key points
Introduction
Low-lying placenta and placenta previa
Accreta placentation
Abnormal insertion of the umbilical cord
Abnormal placental shapes and placenta extrachorioalis
Summary and future research
Key Infections in the Placenta
Key points
Introduction
TORCH—Toxoplasma gondii
TORCH—other—syphilis
TORCH—other—Listeria monocytogenes
TORCH—other—malaria
TORCH—other—parvovirus B19
TORCH—other—Zika virus
TORCH—rubella virus
TORCH—cytomegalovirus
TORCH—herpes simplex virus
Fetal Membranes, Not a Mere Appendage of the Placenta, but a Critical Part of the Fetal-Maternal Interface Controlling
Parturition
Key points
Fetal membranes, an often ignored critical uterine tissue
So, what are fetal membranes?
Physiologic aging of fetal membranes during gestation and its relationship to normal parturition
Preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes, an understudied phenotype of spontaneous preterm births
The causality of preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes, an untapped area of research with no progress in
clinical translational medicine
Intrinsic factors: pathologic aging of fetal membranes promotes preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes and
preterm births
Extrinsic factors
Cervical remodeling and fetal membrane rupture
External inflammatory challenges and fetal membrane rupture
What has been left out?
Can preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes be predicted prior to occurrence?
If a method to identify likely preterm prelabor rupture of the fetal membranes becomes available, can fetal membranes
be targeted therapeutically?
Issues related to study of fetal membranes
Times, however, are changing
Evidence for Corpus Luteal and Endometrial Origins of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Women Conceiving with or Without
Assisted Reproduction
Key points
Introduction
Endometrium spectrum disorders: a new and emerging concept
In vitro fertilization: adverse pregnancy outcomes
Why is in vitro fertilization associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes?
Future investigations
When the Fetus Goes Still and the Birth Is Tragic: The Role of the Placenta in Stillbirths
Key points
Introduction
Risk factors for stillbirth in high-income countries
Association between placental abnormalities and stillbirth
Clinical utility of placental examination after stillbirth
Using knowledge about the placenta to provide care in a pregnancy after stillbirth
Summary
Placental Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Method to Evaluate Placental Function In Vivo
Key points
Introduction
Content
Summary and perspectives