Placenta previa: does its type affect pregnancy outcome?

Our objective was to compare pregnancy outcomes associated with different types of placenta previa. This is a retrospective analysis of pregnancies complicated by placenta previa, from January 1990 to December 1997. Descriptive statistics and comparison analyses were performed. One hundred seventy-five singleton pregnancies beyond 24 weeks that were complicated by complete, partial, or marginal previa were included. Differences in pregnancy outcomes between complete, partial, and marginal previas were: onset of bleeding (29.9 +/- 4.5 versus 32.5 +/- 6.9 versus 32.7 +/- 5.0 weeks, respectively, p < 0.05), antepartum hospitalization (60.7% versus 38.1% versus 35.1%, respectively, p < 0.05), gestation at delivery (34.7 +/- 3.1 versus 37.4 +/- 2.6 versus 36.1 +/- 3.0 weeks, respectively, p < 0.05), birth weight (2498.3 +/- 746.8 versus 2978.8 +/- 568.3 versus 2813.4 +/- 728.4 g, respectively, p < 0.05), and hysterectomy at time of cesarean delivery (20.5% versus 0% versus 8.1%, respectively, p < 0.05). For all outcome parameters, the partial and marginal previa groups did not differ. Women with complete placenta previa, as diagnosed with modern ultrasound techniques, had poorer pregnancy outcome. They were more likely to deliver prematurely and were more likely to require a hysterectomy at the time of cesarean delivery.