Placenta Previa (前置胎盘)

Hi Dr Jason,

thank you for creating a informative blog to share with all of us.

Im 16 weeks pregnant at the age of 34. this is my 2nd pregnancy after 4 years. My eldest daughter was a C-section baby due to low lying placenta.

I just wonder for this 2nd pregnancy, will I bear the same risk of this kind of complication?

thank you

best regards

Lim

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Diagram on the left : A normal placental location

Diagram on the right : Placenta previa where the cervix is fully covered by the placenta.

Hi, Lim,

Placenta previa is caused by abnormal placenta implantation into the lower part of the uterus where the cervix is completely or partially covered by the placenta tissue.

This situation is dangerous as the baby is unable to go through the birth channel due to the placenta obstruction at the cervix.

Sometimes, it may cause heavy bleeding during pregnancy and potentially risky to both the mother and baby.

The risk of recurrence of placenta previa in the subsequent pregnancy is around 20 percent.

It means you stand a high risk for this problem to happen again.

To make thing worse, a recurrent placenta previa with a previous caesarean delivery will significantly increase the risk of placenta accreta.

Placenta accreta is referred to a condition where the wall of uterus is infiltrated by the placenta tissue, particularly the wall around your surgical site in uterus.

The placenta issue may invade the uterine wall and as a result the placenta tissue is unable to separate from the uterus after delivery.

If this situation happens, it will cause heavy bleeding after delivery and sometimes the doctor need to remove the uterus in order to save life.

Your doctor should be able to determine the early placenta location after 3 months of pregnancy. If after seven months of pregnancy the location remained low lying, then the placenta previa is confirmed.

Dr Jason Ong