Conservative Management of Placenta Accreta Spectrum and Breast-Milk Production

Conservative management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) includes delivery of the fetus with retention of the placenta in situ. There are insufficient data evaluating the effect of leaving the placenta in situ with PAS on the ability to establish lactation. We performed a prospective cohort study of 126 patients diagnosed with PAS. Clinical data pertaining to breastfeeding were obtained, as well as laboratory values for β-hCG and progesterone. Our objective was to assess breast-milk production measured by time of onset of stage II lactogenesis and hormone values in individuals managed with placental retention compared with those undergoing hysterectomy. We found that the average time for onset of stage II lactogenesis was 5.6 days with conservative management and 3.8 days with cesarean hysterectomy ( P =.07). Although β-hCG levels did not differ between groups, postpartum progesterone levels were lower in the cesarean hysterectomy group compared with the retained placenta group (1.86 ng/mL vs 62.9 ng/mL, P <.001).