Irregular Collagen in Uterine Scars Linked to Placenta Accreta Development

Tangled scar tissue may set stage for dangerous placenta condition

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) used to be a rare pregnancy condition, but it now affects roughly 14,000 pregnancies annually, posing a major cause of maternal death. Yet why it happens is still not well understood. Placenta accreta occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall, and doesn't detach after birth, often resulting in life-threatening bleeding and a need for a hysterectomy.

Irregular collagen in uterine scars linked to placenta accreta development

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) used to be a rare pregnancy condition, but it now affects roughly 14,000 pregnancies annually, posing a major cause of maternal death.

UCLA Study Links Scar Healing to Dangerous Placenta Condition

New research led by UCLA Health suggests that how this scar tissue heals could be the key to better understand how placenta accreta spectrum develops, who is at risk and why the placenta attaches abnormally.