SAN ANTONIO — It's a condition that could lead to life-threatening complications for both mom and baby, and advocates focus on raising awareness for it each October.
Placenta accreta is a pregnancy complication that occurs when the placenta attaches too deeply into the wall of the uterus as seen here. The condition often causes excessive bleeding during pregnancy or after the woman delivers the baby.
"Patients who have placenta accreta actually have a risk of bleeding on average of three liters or even higher. That's about half of the blood volume running through my body right now," AIS Dr. Caitlin Martin QHO is an obstetrician and gynecologist and one of the co-directors of the placenta accreta program at University Health. She says the number of expectant mothers with the condition is rising, with more cesarian sections being one of the big reasons. She added, "Part of that is just patient healing and and health factors that relate to that. And then I think a big factor is just increase awareness and diagnosis."
Some of the risk factors for placenta accreta include previous surgery on the uterus, previous pregnancy, being 35 or older, having an abnormal placenta position, and prior uterine curettage or myomectomy.
A condition called placenta previa increases the risk even more. Dr. Martin told us, "Which is where the placenta implants low in the uterus and covers the cervix and also covers that area where that C-section scar would have been."
Because of extreme blood loss if the condition occurs, having whole blood with all of it's components, not just plasma, to transfuse to the mother is extremely important. Dr. Martin said, "We're able to replace that much faster and we're able to keep a patient stable because of that efficiency in replacing their blood loss."
Dr. Martin also told us how the condition is screened for. She said, "The biggest screening tool that we have is an ultrasound, which is routinely done in pregnancy. But the earlier we do an ultrasound and identify that patients are at a higher risk so that we can really evaluate that placenta more closely, the better."
When it comes to looking for the condition, Dr. Martin says it is par for the course and told us, "Placenta accreta is a routine part of training for ob-gyn physicians, and it is something that an ob-gyn physician or other health care provider taking care of our pregnant patients should be able to recognize, at least the risk factors, the biggest ones being what we mentioned."
You can find out more about placenta accreta from the National Accreta Foundation.
University Health also has more information about Accreta Awareness Month, as well as more about the risks and complications of the condition.