# placenta accreta/percreta question!



## Jenner

For those of you that have had placenta accreta or percreta, I really am going crazy trying to find out what to expect during the last trimester. I am wondering at what point you started bleeding if you hadn't been bleeding throughout. I would love your stories and insight! Also did doing certain things make it better or worse and did you have any pains with it that you didn't have with previous pregnancies? Thanks for any advice!


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## Jenner

I am hearing crickets!!! Ha ha, they said this is an extremely rare condition but I thought someone on hear would have something to say!


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## Mystique26

Hi Jenner, I'm not very familiar with placenta accreta but I dont want to read and run. Hope you get the answers you need though. :hugs:


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## sar35

sorry i cant help either, my only knowledge is that of placenta previa...wishing you well for the rest of your pregnancy x


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## Jenner

I guess only about one in every 100,000 pregnant woman ever get this so it was a long shot. This is the only place that I have found anyone who even remotely is going through the same thing.


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## poppy

Hi Jenner!

There was a girl who posted about this a while back who had a placenta accreta in her first pregnancy. I think she said that she would be carefully monitored if she had another baby. How do you know you have an accreta? Did you have one in a previous pregnancy.

With my son, I had a retained placenta which had to be removed in theatre by manual removal (when the doctor sticks their hand 'up there' and yanks the placenta out). The doctor said that it wasn't an accreta as, though it was stuck, it came out easily when they did the manual removal. Having said that, I am worried about having another retained placenta this time around as I have heard that you can have an increased risk if you have had a previous one. I have had a meeting with my gynaecologist and she doesn't think it is a major increased risk, but they will have my past birth in my notes and will be prepared for it if it happens again.

I would say with an accreta or precreta, they will monitor you even closer in birth and be prepared in case they have to surgically remove it. At least, in your case, you are aware about the possibility of it happening before you go into labour as then they can be prepared and manage it. Often it only becomes a problem if they are not prepared for it beforehand. 

Good luck, I hope someone is able to give you more information. 

xxx


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## poppy

I think the girl was called Kirsten1985 or Kristen1985.

Oh, Mikaylasmum (on my friends list) had one with her first pregnancy as well.


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## Jenner

Poppy

So as for how they know I have already had 4 million ultrasounds. I already see the best high risk doctor around. He just also happens to be the go to guy for this sort of thing. I decided maybe I should get a second opinion but when you look it up he is the man. I completely trust him with my life. He has delivered my last 4 kids.

I have never had this before and I have only had 1 csection in the past. I did hemmorage big time after my last which was vaginal. I have also had many d&c's which can also be a flag to this condition. They are majorly prepared for all of this, but my big concern is that if it starts at home I won't make it to the hospital of my choice (the one that is best and knows my whole situation). The closest hospital is one that I would never have a baby at especially with something so complicated. I wish I could find someone who has been through exactly what I have cuz I just have several questions.

Yes, from what I understand it does increase your risk of having it again. Just make sure they watch you close and have a good team behind you!!!


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## The Stick

Hi Jenner


I thought i would reply to your thread with my story. 6 months ago I had my 4th child by c-section and i had total placenta previa and placenta accreta, due to medical reasons i had had to have sections for all four of my children and i am 38.

At my 20 week scan it was picked up that i had placenta previa and possible placenta accreta (due to my history of c-sections and uterine scars). They were unsure of this and was given all the usual precautions to take for previa- basicaly pelvic rest and asked to come back at 34 weeks for another scan to see if they could find any acreta by looking for abnormal blood flow, to which they found a section of placenta that they thought was acreta, so i was sent for a mri scan at 35 weeks for an accurate diagnosis, this came back also showing acreta but not to what extent. At this point i was told there would be several options after the baby was born by section to remove the plecanta depending on how bad it was
1) to leave placenta in and scanned regularly to see if body would re-absorb
2) cut a letter box shape in uterus to remove attached placenta and re-sow up
3) or, most high risk due to potential extensive blood loss ceserean hysterectomy.

I was in so much shock over this, as, as you know it's pretty rare and had no one to really talk to. In the end i left the decision as to what to do to the consultand based on what she found when she opened me up.

The day cme when i was due to go in for the section and i was very nervous as i had been told that if a hysterectomy at delivery was necessary than i could loose 6 pints of blood and end up in i.t.u to recover.
I stayed awake for the entire time in theatre and the hospital used a procedure that they hadn't used on a pregnant woman before which was a femeral block. Which was basicaly putting sponge stuff in my arteries to minimise blood flow. As it happen the acreta was extensive and a hysterectomy was the only answer to get the placenta out but due to the procedure they used i only lost the same amount of blood that you would loose for a normal section. I went straight to the post natal ward and went home three days later. Recovery was slow and steady and 6months on I am almost back to my old self and my daughter is perfect.
Sorry for long reply but hope this helps- obviously every sitiuation is different and so are the outcomes but this condition is so rare it's difficult to find anyone who has had it. (my consultant said she would only see one case once a year or so)

I never bled during the pregnancy but the consultant didn't think i would once they suspected accreta- dont know why :shrug:

I was finally diagnosed with total placenta previa and placenta accreta, with the risk factor being my previous c-sections- although I had no idea what accreta was until this pregnancy. Apparantly they couldnt even seperate my placenta from my womb in pathology/ histology! (think thats the dept the consultant said) so i was told after a follow up apt 8 weeks postnatal. I dint have any aches or pains during pregnancy relating to what was going on and there was nothing i could do to change the outcome. I just had to be very careful as i got bigger not to do anything strenuous and any bleeding get straight to hospital ( that never happened thankfuly)

Sounds like you have a good consultant behind you and I am sure everything will go smoothly for you and I wish you all the best
:hugs: xx


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## MikaylasMummy

hi hun, sorry i didnt see your thread earlier..
i had a placenta accreta with my first pregnancy that was undiagnosed until i gave birth naturally and heameraged quite severly and it was very very hard to stop the bleeding..i was very close to being taken to theatre for a hysterectomy but they managed to close my uterus unknowingly over the left over placenta however this stopped the bleeding so i was left to go home a week later after a few blood transfusions..obviously i soon had severe infections and ended with a d&c..
i was very lucky after the ordeal to get pregnant after 6months trying with our second..this time i went through a very good high risk ob/gyn who said c-section straight off and thats exactly what i wanted..he said a csection would allow him to act quickly to get the placenta out and also stem any bleeding and allow him to insure he got it all..at 20 weeks i had a previa as well which extended into my shortening cervix..
during the csection he said my placenta was still very low and stuck but he got it all out in one peice..i did go into labour 4weeks early(common with accretas and i had preterm labour from 20weeks) and my waters broke however i had no bleeding at that time nor did i at any time during this second pregnancy..
with the first pregnancy i bled at 11 weeks and a big one at 33 weeks..it still wasnt picked up!i went full term +9 with my first preg and had no complications til the heamerage..hope this helps and feel free to ask me any questions i would have loved to have found some one who had an accreta when i was pregnant with second bub as i was desperate for some answers from someone experienced as it iss so rare!


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## Jenner

Thank you so much for responding girls!!! I am so stressed about this whole situation and not knowing what to expect. I am terrified of starting to bleed at home and the best hospital (the one I go to) is about 40 minutes away. If I do have to call an ambulance they will have to take me to the nearest one which is like 5 minutes away but totally not equipped for this sort of thing. I don't know what would happen if I ended up there.

Every time I leave the house I start to panic about each situation and what I would do if I started to bleed. I hemorraged with my last one but I had just given birth so they were able to take good care of me. I can't imagine if I would have been at home, it happened so fast. They haven't put me on bed rest yet and they told me that as for the pelvic rest they don't really think that makes a difference. Which kind of concerns me because everyone on here got told to do pelvic rest from the beginning.

How did you guys feel after the whole ordeal and taking care of a newborn. I am so scared that I am not going to feel up to it and not going to be able to enjoy the beginning at all. It is just a whole lot of surgery while going trough a delivery. 

Thanks!!!


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## Jenner

The Stick & Mikaylas Mummy I am so glad you replied. I have been dying to hear more stories. Please tell me more, I would love to know more about how yours went down and how your recovery was!!!


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## The Stick

Hi Jenner

My surgery took 6 hours in total, first section then hysterectomy to which i stayed awake for it all. I was offered a general after the baby was delivered but didnt want to miss those first few moments with baby by bieng really groggy. It was difficult at first taking care of her because of feeling really rough for a week or two but i soon got into the swing of it and took each day as it came until i found my feet again.

My recovery has been long, my doc said it would take a year to recover from a cescerean hysterectomy! I thought she was joking but 6 months in, altho i pretty much feel like myself i still have some niggles.
Soon after the delivery/hysterectomy i started to get some awful pains when my bladder let down after going to the loo and some terrible pains shooting up my back passage, after having a scan i was told i had a blood clot on the little peice of uterus that i have left in my cervix-which the ultrasound lady called my 'stump' grrrrr! and it was causing preasure. I was re-assured that the pains would stop when my body re-absorbed the clot, which they did.

The biggest problem was that no-one knew how to treat me, on the delivery ward they only knew how to deal with section patients and gynea only could give info about normal hysterectomys when the womb is the size of a pear and not the size of a 6lb baby ! I found it hard to get info about my recovery and what to expect, so i just muddled through. 
I am just happy i didn't end up in intensive care (that could have been one of the senarios) though as it was really important for me to breast feed and bieng that ill may have made it more difficult.

If you have specific questions about my experience then feel free to ask away. :hugs: xx


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## MikaylasMummy

oh the stick thats very very strange cos after this ceaser although not a hysterectomy i had some very very bad pains in my tummy and up my back passage but i just ignored them??they are gone now though and definatley no clots as my ob does an ultrasound after birth to check everything is clear..
jenner my recovery with mikayla was aweful for a number of reasons..1 is that i lost sooo much blood until the transfusions started taking effect i looked and felt like a complete zombie..because they were not aware of the accreta even after i hameraged i had terrible terrible uterus infections where i would wake up like id stepped out of the shower and into bed for a few weeks til they finally took me in for the d&c and found the accreta.but i think my recovery was mainly so bad due to other reasons as i had a very very large epesiotomy and tonnes of damage which resulted in me having an incompetant cervix this time around..there were a bunch of factors in my recovery apart from the accreta!


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## The Stick

MikaylasMummy said:


> oh the stick thats very very strange cos after this ceaser although not a hysterectomy i had some very very bad pains in my tummy and up my back passage but i just ignored them??they are gone now though and definatley no clots as my ob does an ultrasound after birth to check everything is clear..
> jenner my recovery with mikayla was aweful for a number of reasons..1 is that i lost sooo much blood until the transfusions started taking effect i looked and felt like a complete zombie..because they were not aware of the accreta even after i hameraged i had terrible terrible uterus infections where i would wake up like id stepped out of the shower and into bed for a few weeks til they finally took me in for the d&c and found the accreta.but i think my recovery was mainly so bad due to other reasons as i had a very very large epesiotomy and tonnes of damage which resulted in me having an incompetant cervix this time around..there were a bunch of factors in my recovery apart from the accreta!


Flipping heck! it sounds like you had a terrible time. I hope you are recovered now. At least in my case they were aware of it prior to delivery-although not the extent of the accreta that was only discovered at delivery. You sound like a really strong brave lady. :flower:


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## KandyKinz

Can't say that I have any personal experiences with placenta accreta but as a former midwifery student I have studied it.

From everything I have read about placenta accreta it's actually much more common then 1/100,000...... It's closer to 1/500 to 1/2500... Apparently, the incidence has been rising due to the increased numbers of c-sections and D&C's but I think an increase in the recognition and diagnosis has also played a role.

In terms of bleeding, it can occur during the pregnancy specifically in the thrid trimester but most of the time woman have no symptoms prenatally and if they do bleed it tends to be rather light to moderate...

The main risk as you are likely already aware is having a retained placenta or postpartum hemorrhage after the delivery. Most women with placenta accreta are not diagnosed with it until after the birth so you definitly have an advantage here as now your care providers can be well prepared. Around where I am if placenta accreta is diagnosed prenatally a cesarean is advised.... Because you have already had one and because of this diagnosis I can only assume that that's the plan for you???? Not all women with placenta accreta end up requiring transfusions or needing a hysterectomy and hopefully you'll fall into that category. But just in case things do go astray following delivery I highly suggest that you do your best prenatally to keep your iron/hemoglobin up (eat lots and lots of iron rich foods!!!!) AND arrange for some extra help postpartum in terms of caring for other children and cleaning and cooking. The more time you have to look after yourself the fast you will recover...


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## Jenner

KandyKinz said:


> Can't say that I have any personal experiences with placenta accreta but as a former midwifery student I have studied it.
> 
> From everything I have read about placenta accreta it's actually much more common then 1/100,000...... It's closer to 1/500 to 1/2500... Apparently, the incidence has been rising due to the increased numbers of c-sections and D&C's but I think an increase in the recognition and diagnosis has also played a role.
> 
> In terms of bleeding, it can occur during the pregnancy specifically in the thrid trimester but most of the time woman have no symptoms prenatally and if they do bleed it tends to be rather light to moderate...
> 
> The main risk as you are likely already aware is having a retained placenta or postpartum hemorrhage after the delivery. Most women with placenta accreta are not diagnosed with it until after the birth so you definitly have an advantage here as now your care providers can be well prepared. Around where I am if placenta accreta is diagnosed prenatally a cesarean is advised.... Because you have already had one and because of this diagnosis I can only assume that that's the plan for you???? Not all women with placenta accreta end up requiring transfusions or needing a hysterectomy and hopefully you'll fall into that category. But just in case things do go astray following delivery I highly suggest that you do your best prenatally to keep your iron/hemoglobin up (eat lots and lots of iron rich foods!!!!) AND arrange for some extra help postpartum in terms of caring for other children and cleaning and cooking. The more time you have to look after yourself the fast you will recover...

I actually have learned quite a bit about it in the past couple of months. They are planning on a hysterctomy when I deliver unless a miracle happens in the mean time. Accreta is more common than what I have. I have percreta which is when the placenta starts to attack your organs. Mine has wrapped around my bladder and now the concern is if it is starting to go through the bladder wall. 

My dr. is the go to guy around here for this luckily. He has seen plenty of accreta but only al few of percreta. He actually had one where the placenta worked its way all the way up the ventricules of the heart. They had to leave pieces of it all the way up and let it be reabsorbed so not to do more damage. So crazy!


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## KandyKinz

Jenner said:


> KandyKinz said:
> 
> 
> Can't say that I have any personal experiences with placenta accreta but as a former midwifery student I have studied it.
> 
> From everything I have read about placenta accreta it's actually much more common then 1/100,000...... It's closer to 1/500 to 1/2500... Apparently, the incidence has been rising due to the increased numbers of c-sections and D&C's but I think an increase in the recognition and diagnosis has also played a role.
> 
> In terms of bleeding, it can occur during the pregnancy specifically in the thrid trimester but most of the time woman have no symptoms prenatally and if they do bleed it tends to be rather light to moderate...
> 
> The main risk as you are likely already aware is having a retained placenta or postpartum hemorrhage after the delivery. Most women with placenta accreta are not diagnosed with it until after the birth so you definitly have an advantage here as now your care providers can be well prepared. Around where I am if placenta accreta is diagnosed prenatally a cesarean is advised.... Because you have already had one and because of this diagnosis I can only assume that that's the plan for you???? Not all women with placenta accreta end up requiring transfusions or needing a hysterectomy and hopefully you'll fall into that category. But just in case things do go astray following delivery I highly suggest that you do your best prenatally to keep your iron/hemoglobin up (eat lots and lots of iron rich foods!!!!) AND arrange for some extra help postpartum in terms of caring for other children and cleaning and cooking. The more time you have to look after yourself the fast you will recover...
> 
> I actually have learned quite a bit about it in the past couple of months. They are planning on a hysterctomy when I deliver unless a miracle happens in the mean time. Accreta is more common than what I have. I have percreta which is when the placenta starts to attack your organs. Mine has wrapped around my bladder and now the concern is if it is starting to go through the bladder wall.
> 
> My dr. is the go to guy around here for this luckily. He has seen plenty of accreta but only al few of percreta. He actually had one where the placenta worked its way all the way up the ventricules of the heart. They had to leave pieces of it all the way up and let it be reabsorbed so not to do more damage. So crazy!Click to expand...

Oh I was thinking you just had accreta. Hopefully, in your case this doesn't cause any lasting damage to your bladder.


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## MikaylasMummy

The Stick said:


> MikaylasMummy said:
> 
> 
> oh the stick thats very very strange cos after this ceaser although not a hysterectomy i had some very very bad pains in my tummy and up my back passage but i just ignored them??they are gone now though and definatley no clots as my ob does an ultrasound after birth to check everything is clear..
> jenner my recovery with mikayla was aweful for a number of reasons..1 is that i lost sooo much blood until the transfusions started taking effect i looked and felt like a complete zombie..because they were not aware of the accreta even after i hameraged i had terrible terrible uterus infections where i would wake up like id stepped out of the shower and into bed for a few weeks til they finally took me in for the d&c and found the accreta.but i think my recovery was mainly so bad due to other reasons as i had a very very large epesiotomy and tonnes of damage which resulted in me having an incompetant cervix this time around..there were a bunch of factors in my recovery apart from the accreta!
> 
> 
> Flipping heck! it sounds like you had a terrible time. I hope you are recovered now. At least in my case they were aware of it prior to delivery-although not the extent of the accreta that was only discovered at delivery. You sound like a really strong brave lady. :flower:Click to expand...


aw thanks hun..yes it was a terrible time especially being my first bub and to top it off she was 9pound 4!!i had a planned ceaser this time around incase the accreta reoccured and the ob found that the placenta was a bit stuck and very very low so it was possible if i had of gone for a natural birth i may have had more problems..luckily this time it was much better having a ceaser!!except i got a spinal headache cos they had to use an epidural needle for the tap cos they couldnt get it in and they are horrible!!i had no pain from the ceaser i was that doped up but the headache was of migraine proportions!the only thing that stopped it was lying flat!!apparantly thats rare too..lol..i think i am just an exception to all the rules on my own.lol


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## Jenner

MikaylasMummy said:


> The Stick said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikaylasMummy said:
> 
> 
> oh the stick thats very very strange cos after this ceaser although not a hysterectomy i had some very very bad pains in my tummy and up my back passage but i just ignored them??they are gone now though and definatley no clots as my ob does an ultrasound after birth to check everything is clear..
> jenner my recovery with mikayla was aweful for a number of reasons..1 is that i lost sooo much blood until the transfusions started taking effect i looked and felt like a complete zombie..because they were not aware of the accreta even after i hameraged i had terrible terrible uterus infections where i would wake up like id stepped out of the shower and into bed for a few weeks til they finally took me in for the d&c and found the accreta.but i think my recovery was mainly so bad due to other reasons as i had a very very large epesiotomy and tonnes of damage which resulted in me having an incompetant cervix this time around..there were a bunch of factors in my recovery apart from the accreta!
> 
> 
> Flipping heck! it sounds like you had a terrible time. I hope you are recovered now. At least in my case they were aware of it prior to delivery-although not the extent of the accreta that was only discovered at delivery. You sound like a really strong brave lady. :flower:Click to expand...
> 
> 
> aw thanks hun..yes it was a terrible time especially being my first bub and to top it off she was 9pound 4!!i had a planned ceaser this time around incase the accreta reoccured and the ob found that the placenta was a bit stuck and very very low so it was possible if i had of gone for a natural birth i may have had more problems..luckily this time it was much better having a ceaser!!except i got a spinal headache cos they had to use an epidural needle for the tap cos they couldnt get it in and they are horrible!!i had no pain from the ceaser i was that doped up but the headache was of migraine proportions!the only thing that stopped it was lying flat!!apparantly thats rare too..lol..i think i am just an exception to all the rules on my own.lolClick to expand...

Thats so funny, we must be so much alike. If there is a wierd symptom, side effect or complication I will be the one to get it. I also had spinal headaches from an epidural. It was awful. They finally ended up doing a blood patch where they put blood back in the epidural sight. It helped luckily. I am hoping that since they are very much aware of my situation that mine will be much smoother. No way to be sure though cuz I do tend to get everything. I am also a vegetarian so I am always anemic which is a big concern. They told me to be packing in the iron but I don't eat anything with iron in it. I am not as worried about the surgery as much as I am the recovery. That totally stresses me out!!!


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## surromama36

Hi,

I just delivered a baby via vag last week. Undiagnosed with the placenta accreta until after delivery. 

I did have a low lying frontal placenta in my last pregnancy that was monitored during and after the delivery, it did cause a slow trickle bleed which I did loose a lot of blood. My midwife was able to clear my uterus in delivery room to stop the bleed. She was fantastic. Didn't require a transfusion of any sort though. 

Well, the boy I delivered last week was born on due date, via induction as I labor extremely quick (under an hour). My midwife was aware of the bleed I had last labor so she was sure to have everything ready this time just incase. Well right after baby was born, it was realized the placenta wasn't moving. She called the OB in within 10 mins and he realized I needed a D&C asap or it could be a possible hysterectomy. After 1hr in the OR, he preformed the D&C successfully. I had 3 iron infusions and 4 units of blood and am feeling much better. 

After speaking to 3 obs and 3 midwives, it was made clear that if I continued to have babies it could get worse. The placenta could adhere itself to not only the uterus, but the bowels, colon, and baldder. If not causing internal bleeding, thus my life, it could mean a hysterectomy and possible pee bag and colostomy bag for the rest of my life.

I am not ready to stop having children and would like to know what are my chances. I've read and read, but nothing says no. I figure if I have my uterus still, the possibilities are possible. 
Can someone please let me know what the chances are of having a successful pregnancy without any complications again??


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## mamatrujillo

Jenner said:


> For those of you that have had placenta accreta or percreta, I really am going crazy trying to find out what to expect during the last trimester. I am wondering at what point you started bleeding if you hadn't been bleeding throughout. I would love your stories and insight! Also did doing certain things make it better or worse and did you have any pains with it that you didn't have with previous pregnancies? Thanks for any advice!



Hi there! I know I am a little late finding this post, and I hope people are still able to respond! Jenner, I was just diagnosed with Placenta Percreta with bladder invasion 2 days ago. This is my 6th baby. I am still in shock. 

I am hoping to find out how things went for you. I have not had any bleeding yet. I am 20 weeks. I do know that I could lose my bladder , which is a bummer, but I will gladly give up my bladder for the chance to survive this thing. 

I have to have an MRI, and another ultrasound tomorrow to find out how far it has already grown into my bladder. The dr who found this said in his 40 years, he has never actually seen it himself. He had only read about it

Luckily, the dr and hospital I am being referred to, she actually just did a whole lecture on this rare condition! I will be seeing her tomorrow also. 

Im so nervous. I am hoping everything goes smoothly so that we can deliver a life baby with a chance at a normal life. I do not want to leave my children without a mother. 

I am so happy for the early diagnosis! My dr and i had a planned vbac originally, which would have surely killed me. I have not had any actual bleeding yet. But I have had blood in my urine this entire pregnancy and they couldnt figure out why! Now we know!! 

Please let me know how you are doing! We moved from Utah to where we are now, so we are no longer around family etc so the whole situation is going to be very hard without support. And theres something to be said about someone else understanding the situation! 

This pregnancy itself was a total shock. Because our last child was a fertility baby, I hadnt had a natural cycle in over 5 years and then BAM I got pregnant 3 months after having surgery for endometriosis. Im still going through a lot of emotions with this whole thing. Its scary and a lot to process. 

How are you? Have you delivered yet?


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