Placenta Accreta
Placenta accreta is a rare condition in which the placenta attaches too deeply to the uterine wall. Becca shares her experience and how HCA HealthONE helped her bring a healthy baby boy into the world.
Becca, a 39-year-old Guernsey, WY mom, found out at her 20-week ultrasound that her pregnancy was more complicated than she expected. Already a mom to five children, Becca knew she was considered “high-risk” due to her previous C-section and subsequent VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean). But this visit revealed that her placenta wasn’t in an ideal position. The team first thought she simply had placenta previa, which occurs when the placenta is completely or partially covering the opening of the uterus. This could mean a hemorrhage (deadly to mom and baby) as the cervix dilates (which could occur at any point near delivery) so baby would be delivered 36 weeks. “So that would mean a C-section, no questions asked. But we hoped maybe it would move. It didn’t and at some point, they did an MRI and found that it was not only previa but accreta as well,” Becca recalls.
Placenta accreta occurs when the placenta attaches too deeply into the uterine wall. It often develops because of scar tissue leftover from uterine surgery such as a C-section. A rare condition, accreta can be life-threatening to the mother due to severe blood loss after delivery.
It wasn’t long before Becca’s medical team (after bleeding and contractions) felt she needed to get to a higher acuity facility that was equipped to treat potential maternal complications and the needs of a preterm baby. She was helicoptered from Wyoming to HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. Luke’s (PSL) and settled into the hospital’s antepartum unit to try to extend the pregnancy as long as possible, she was at 29.5 weeks. She kept busy, though. “My husband brought down my sewing machine and projects; I played long-distance coordinator for the family even 200 miles from home and the nurses became my friends.” Before she knew it, Timothy was born at just shy of 33 weeks. While early, Becca was in just the right place to receive the best care for both herself and her new baby.
The baby was delivered via C-section and while the first attempt was to save Becca’s uterus, she continued bleeding after the delivery, losing two quarts of blood. At that point, her physician recommended a hysterectomy. “We tried to save the uterus but God shut the door for us and once I realized that I wasn’t in control, it was easier to say yes to the hysterectomy,” Becca explains.
Soon, Becca was healing and discharged but baby Timothy needed some extra attention. Born at 3 pounds 11 ounces, he was placed in the world-class NICU at the pediatric hospital right on the PSL campus, HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s. There, he received top-notch care for 37 days before Becca and Timothy returned to Guernsey, reuniting their family once again.
While the experience was one she didn’t expect or choose, Becca was grateful for the skilled, compassionate providers who were placed in her path at just the right time. “I was definitely right where I needed to be (by God’s leading) and both me and baby Timothy received the best of care!”