Unfourtunatly, it doesn't take for someone to drink, smoke, or take drugs to develop a calcified placenta. Calcification is also caused by hypertension on a placenta.
Just as blood vessels can constrict in cardiovascular hypertension, it can obstruct blood flow to the placenta as well when calcified white specks appear on the placenta. This can can decrease the amount of nutrition and oxygen going to the baby.
Maybe this explains why calcification is referred to as a sign of placental aging or pre-mature aging of the placenta. The more calcification, the less placenta is normal tissue for supplying the baby.
Nevertheless, this is not usually much of a concern because there has to be a conciderable amount of calcification before there's really any compromise to the baby. The grading scale of the placenta (Grades 1, 2, and 3) is a fuzzy parameter at best and may help you determine its severity.
Hope this answers your question!
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