Maternal serum markers, characteristics and morbidly adherent placenta in women with previa

To examine associations with morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) among women with placenta previa.

Women with MAP (cases) and previa alone (controls) were identified from a cohort of 236,714 singleton pregnancies with both first and second trimester prenatal screening, and live birth and hospital discharge records; pregnancies with aneuploidies and neural tube or abdominal wall defects were excluded. Logistic binomial regression was used to compare cases with controls.

In all, 37 cases with MAP and 699 controls with previa alone were included. Risk for MAP was increased among multiparous women with pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) ⩾95th percentile (⩾2.63 multiple of the median (MoM); adjusted OR (aOR) 8.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.8 to 27.4), maternal-serum alpha fetoprotein (MS-AFP) ⩾95th percentile (⩾1.79 MoM; aOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.0 to 8.0), and 1 and ⩾2 prior cesarean deliveries (CDs; aORs 4.4, 95% CI 1.5 to 13.6 and 18.4, 95% CI 5.9 to 57.5, respectively).

Elevated PAPP-A, elevated MS-AFP and prior CDs are associated with MAP among women with previa.