Placenta Accreta, Placenta Increta and Placenta Percreta

In addition to low laying placenta and placenta previa that we already talked about,there are some other problems related to placenta and its position inside the uterus.

Placenta accreta occurs when placenta attaches to the uterus wall too deeply and strongly. In order to receive nutrients and oxygen from the mother’s blood, placenta has to attach into the uterus wall, however, when this attachment is too deep, it is called placenta increta.

In 75% of all cases, placenta attachment to uterus is too deep, however, the uterus muscles are intact and placenta has not attached to them too. This is called placenta accreta.

In 15% of the cases, placenta goes even deeper and attaches to the uterus muscles too. This is called placenta increta.

In less than 5% of the cases, placenta passes through the uterus wall and attaches even to the other organs like bladder.  This is the worst case which is called placenta percreta.

What cases placenta to have such an abnormal and unusual attachment to uterus wall?

The real cause of placenta accreta is unknown, but placenta previa and also the previous Cesarean sections can be the reasons and risk factors. Many of the cases are seen with mothers who already had several Cesarean sections or they have already been diagnosed with placenta previa.

Therefore when a mother is diagnosed with placenta previa during her pregnancy, through ultrasound or MRI, it has to be followed up with caution to make sure that there is no sign of placenta accreta or the other worse occurrences like increta and percreta. In some of the cases hysterectomy is necessary to prevent any damage to the other organs.

Vaginal bleeding during the last trimester as well as a placenta previa that has already been diagnosed through ultrasound or MRI are the symptoms indicating that a placenta accreta is also possible. Sometimes more hysterectomy is also necessary.

For the baby, premature delivery and its following problems is the most important concern. Hemorrhaging during the delivery and detaching the placenta from the uterus wall is a life threatening problem for mothers with placenta accreta and more complicated cases like placenta increta and percreta.