The placenta allows the circulations of mother and baby to meet intimately, but never mix.
Inside the placenta the baby's capillaries are continually bathed in a "lake" of the mother's blood.
When necessary nutrients are at a higher level in the mother's blood than in the baby's, they diffuse through the one-cell thickness of the baby's capillaries.
If nutrient levels are not high enough in the mother’s blood stream then the baby does not receive what it needs and this will cause growth and development problems.
Likewise, when waste products reach a higher level in the baby's circulation, they diffuse back through the capillary network into the maternal circulation and are eventually cleansed from the bloodstream by her liver and excreted by her kidneys.
The process of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange works the same way.
Keeping placental function up throughout pregnancy is one of the most important tasks the mother's body must accomplish.
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