Publication:

Clinical features and course of pregnancy in placenta praevia

Background India being a developing country, with majority of its population in rural areas, lack in basic medical care and transportation. With a high rate of illiteracy, early marriages and high prevalence of anaemia, it is important to counsel, diagnose, refer and manage a case of placenta praevia at a higher centreMethods: All patients who came with history of painless bleeding per vagina after 28 weeks of gestation were hospitalized. A thorough history of vaginal bleeding (warning haemorrhage) was taken. Cases with confirmed diagnosis of placenta praevia on ultrasonography were included in the study.

Results Out of 84 cases, 70 cases (83.33%) underwent C/S of which 69 (82.14%) cases were emergency C/S and 1 (1.19%) case underwent elective C/S. 2 (2.38%) cases underwent emergency laparotomy for rupture uterus along with placenta praevia. 12 (14.29%) cases delivered vaginally, of which 9 (10.72%) delivered spontaneously and 3 (3.57%) cases were accelerated.

Conclusions In our study, majority of cases (76.19percent) occurred in the age group of 21-30years, which is lower than the mean maternal age reported in other studies. It is possible that an earlier age of marriage and conception in our community have influenced this finding.