Placentas are one of the main players during pregnancy. In fact, a pregnancy cannot proceed without a healthy placenta. So just how much do most women know about this mysterious, but oh so important, part of pregnancy?

Dr. N. Natour from Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas, says the placenta is also referred to as the afterbirth. "The placenta is an organ which provides the fetus with oxygen, water and essential nutrients as well as providing a route for clearance of fetal waste products like carbon dioxide," says Dr. Natour. "The placenta also produces multiple hormones and other factors essential to the maintenance of pregnancy."

The placenta grows along the lining of the uterus and is attached to the baby by the umbilical cord. "The placenta is partially of fetal origin and partly of maternal origin," says Dr. Natour. "The fetal portion is composed of highly specialized cells from the outermost embryonic membrane, which form projections that contain the fetal blood vessels. These projections are called chorionic villi. The maternal portion is formed by a modification of the lining of the uterus, and the fetal villi grow into the uterine lining."

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