NHS Suffolk and North East Essex - Your Pregnancy Booklet

39 Health and wellbeing in pregnancy If you have any symptoms of pre-eclampsia or intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy call your maternity triage/assessment unit straight away Placenta praevia Placenta praevia can be picked up on an ultrasound scan as a ‘low lying placenta’ in mid pregnancy. This is when the placenta is covering all or part of the entrance to the womb. If you are found to have a low lying placenta you will be re-scanned between 32-36 weeks. The majority of low lying placentas will move to the upper part of the womb by 36 weeks, however 10% of low lying placentas remain low. This can cause bleeding in pregnancy that is sudden and severe. A caesarean birth may be recommended in cases of severe placenta praevia, and the likelihood of needing for a blood transfusion can be higher. The placenta can also sometimes implant abnormally into the wall of the womb. This is a rare condition known as placenta accreta . The risk of having placenta accreta is higher if there is a previous scar on the womb, such as from a previous caesarean section, as the placenta can invade into the previous scar. This is a very serious condition that can be challenging to manage and a hysterectomy (operation to remove the womb) is sometimes needed at the time of delivery. For more information visit: • NHS Choices www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/2596.aspx • Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/a-low-lying-placenta- after-20-weeks-placenta-praevia/