Repetitive C-Sections Can Cause Placenta Accreta

Editorial Team

Placenta accreta occurs when the placenta or blood vessels grows deeply into the muscular layer of the uterus and it becomes difficult to separate it after delivery.

Normally, the placenta ought to detach from the uterus after birth, but with placenta accreta part or some of the placenta remains firmly attached. And this can lead to severe blood loss after delivery.

If placenta accreta is suspected while a woman is pregnant, a C-section delivery is used to deliver her of the baby after which a procedure called Cesarean Hysterectomy or C-Hyst is done on her to remove her uterus. Although her uterus could be saved in other cases, even then, the scarring will make it impossible for her to ever get pregnant again. The scar tissue left behind after a uterine surgery might lead to Asherman’s syndrome.
Placenta accreta is pretty rare and occurs in about 1 in 500 pregnancies. Four out of 10 women above 35, and who have had a C-section earlier and have a placenta previa overlying the uterine scars, might develop placenta accreta.
But as birth through C-section becomes popular, so also does the cases of placenta accreta increased. Women who have had two or more kids through C-section are more at risk of placenta accreta during subsequent C-sections.
Although, early detection can help manage placenta accreta, if placenta accreta was suspected during pregnancy, the best choice you can make is a planned C-section or an abdominal hysterectomy.
But if the patient choose to go through with vaginal birth, the doctors should have blood transfusion and an anesthesiologist ready for the delivery table.

Risk Factors

Placenta accreta is thought to be caused by abnormalities in the lining of the uterus, which is usually due to scarring after a C-section or other surgery to the uterus. This might cause the placenta to grow too deeply into the uterine wall, although there are times when placenta accreta occurs without a history of uterine surgery.

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