OB Hemorrhage: Placenta Accreta, Percreta

Incidence, Risks, Diagnosis

Richard Lee, MD

Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Women's & Chiildren's Hospital

SUMMARY

The rising incidence of placenta accreta is due to the rapidly rising numbers of primary and repeat cesarean births. The most recent data in California shows that 31% of all births are by cesarean section. One study showed that between 1982 and 2002 (before the greatest rise in cesarean births) the overall incidence of placenta accreta was 1 in every 533 deliveries. The risk of accreta is highest in patients with prior cesarean birth and placenta previa (placenta previa also increases with prior cesarean births). Reports have shown that the risk of placenta accreta is increasing proportionally with the increasing numbers of prior cesareans in women with or without placenta previa.

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