Maternal Risk Factors Associated with Placenta Previa: A Retrospective Study

Background: Past caesarean deliveries are more often associated with larger major hemorrhage and placental adhesion abnormalities in subsequent pregnancies with placenta previa than prior vaginal births. The purpose of this retrospective study from a single Saudi Arabian center was to assess the placenta previa risk factors.

Methods: The presence or lack of preceding CS was used to categories placenta previa patients. Group 1 had received at least one CS and Group 2 had not received any CS. Using ultrasonography, placenta previa was diagnosed. The length of the procedure, the amount of blood lost during the procedure, and the necessary erythrocyte suspension (ES) quantities were compared between the groups.

Results: A total of 126 pregnant woman with placenta previa were included: 101 patients in Group 1 had at least one C section and 25 patients in Group 2 had no prior history of C sections. The mean patient’s age in Groups 1 and 2 was 34.5±6.1 and 33.1±6.5 years, respectively. The average duration of the surgery was 55.0±20.1 and 27.8±5.1 minutes, with a p-value of 0.001; the bleeding volumes were 489.2±350.5 ml and 230.2±120.8 ml, with a p-value of 0.001 for group 1 and 2 respectively.

Conclusion: We observed that there were substantial differences between the groups in terms of the duration of hospital stay, amount of bleeding, amount of erythrocyte suspension used, and duration of operation.