A study examining single-baby pregnancies of women in the Netherlands recently found those who suffered a placental abruption, when the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery — either partially or completely, have an increased risk of a repeat abruption in a subsequent pregnancy. The study also factored in the influence of hypertensive disorders (i.e. high blood pressure) and whether they increase the likelihood of a placental abruption or put women at risk for recurrence.
Determining whether a woman is at risk for placental abruption can improve the outcome of the children born from these pregnancies—early diagnosis allows medical professionals to closely monitor the women at risk and anticipate premature labor or prevent a stillbirth. The study, published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, investigated the recurrence rate of placental abruption in 264,424 women of the Netherlands who experienced two subsequent single-baby deliveries. Of those women, 521 (0.20%) had a placental abruption in the first pregnancy versus 214 (0.08%) in the second pregnancy. Further, 12.6% had a hypertensive disorder in the first pregnancy while 6.6% had one during the second pregnancy.
Placental abruption was more prevalent among those who had a hypertensive disorder compared to normotensive (normal blood pressure) women, but high blood pressure itself did not make the women any more likely to experience another placental abruption in the subsequent pregnancy. While high blood pressure during pregnancy regardless makes a woman more likely to experience a placental abruption, there exists no correlation between hypertensive disorders in the first pregnancy and recurrence risk in subsequent single-baby pregnancies.
If your doctors or nurses failed or do fail to diagnose a placental abruption, both the mother and the baby may die or suffer brain damage that can include cerebral palsy. If you believe that you or a loved one may have been a victim of malpractice and/or wrongful death and the failure to timely diagnose placental abruption and deliver your baby quickly, please call Gerald Thurswell of Thurswell Law at (866) 354-5544. We will get your medical records and investigate this case at no charge to you. If and only if we believe malpractice is committed and we are successful, you pay a fee only if we collect money for you.
Courtesy of:
http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(15)00602-X/abstract
