UK Women Report Undiagnosed Placenta Accreta Cases Prompting Emergency Surgeries and Awareness Campaign

Since the launch of a campaign in February to raise awareness among NHS staff and expectant mothers, numerous women have come forward with accounts of how PAS affected them. One woman lost so much blood during birth that she gave up her job as an NHS operating theatre nurse and now suffers from PTSD.

Another woman lost six litres of blood, and her daughter developed cerebral palsy due to a stroke during the traumatic emergency caesarean section as hospital personnel worked to save the mother's life. Others have suffered permanent damage to their bladder or bowels.

PAS occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall, blocking some or all of the cervix and making separation during birth difficult.

The condition is associated with a history of C-section births, where the placenta can attach to the scar from a previous caesarean. Assisted fertility using in vitro fertilisation also increases the risk of PAS, possibly due to the embryo transfer and implantation process, though doctors note the extra risk is small.

One hundred women concerned about how medical teams handled their PAS cases have contacted Amisha and Nik Adhia, who established the Action for Accreta campaign.

Seventy-five of the 100 cases are from around the UK, with the others from abroad. Six out of 10 of the 100 women reported their PAS went undiagnosed, and the dossier shows 61% of cases were undiagnosed, heightening risks such as bleeding to death.

Politicians from all main parties at Westminster support the campaign's call for a major overhaul in how the NHS manages PAS. There is no central data, no mandatory reporting, and no national body responsible for PAS in the UK's NHS. Amisha Adhia launched the campaign after five hospitals failed to spot her own PAS.

Erin Cooper, from Bedfordshire, was never assessed for PAS despite heavy bleeding from 26 weeks into her pregnancy until an emergency C-section at 33 weeks in 2024. 5 litres of blood, required a massive transfusion of 13 units, and underwent a hysterectomy to save her life. “It was like a murder scene.

I now have PTSD around blood. I was a theatre nurse. I’ve had to change jobs and can no longer work in a patient-facing role. I get panicky when I hear sirens. I can’t drive past the hospital without feeling like I’m about to have a panic attack.

I feel a deep loss of my womanhood. I’m now going into early menopause,” Cooper said. Chloe Robinson from Burnley was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night after heavy bleeding at home at 34 weeks pregnant in July 2024.

In theatre, staff discovered placenta accreta, which had not been suspected, leading to a loss of six litres of blood and a hysterectomy. “My daughter had a stroke, which I believe was due to the traumatic birth [and] she now has cerebral palsy. If they had found the condition before, none of this may have happened,” Robinson said.

Cerri-Anne Almond’s PAS was discovered only during her C-section in 2021, when surgeons opened her abdomen and found the placenta abnormally attached to her uterus, prompting an urgent call for a more specialised surgical team. “I’m one of the lucky ones,” Almond said. Adhia met Gillian Merron, the minister for maternity care, last week to urge greater NHS action on PAS.

” Ministers have allocated an extra £149m to improve maternity safety, the NHS has recruited more than 2,000 more midwives, and Martha’s rule gives patients and families the right to a second opinion.