Placental Abruption - Lasting Effects

Lasting Effects

On the mother:

• A large loss of blood or hemorrhage may require blood transfusions and intensive care after delivery. 'APH weakens for PPH to kill'.
• The uterus may not contract properly after delivery so the mother may need medication to help her uterus contract.
• The mother may have problems with blood clotting for a few days.
• If the mother's blood does not clot (particularly during a caesarean section) and too many transfusions could put the mother into disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) due to increased thromboplastin, the doctor may consider a hysterectomy.
• A severe case of shock may affect other organs, such as the liver, kidney, and pituitary gland. Diffuse cortical necrosis in the kidney is a serious and often fatal complication.
• In some cases where the abruption is high up in the uterus, or is slight, there is no bleeding, though extreme pain is felt and reported.

On the baby:

• If a large amount of the placenta separates from the uterus, the baby will probably be in distress until delivery and may die in utero, thus resulting in a stillbirth.
• The baby may be premature and need to be placed in the newborn intensive care unit. He or she might have problems with breathing and feeding.
• If the baby is in distress in the uterus, he or she may have a low level of oxygen in the blood after birth.
• The newborn may have low blood pressure or a low blood count.
• If the separation is severe enough, the baby could suffer brain damage or die before or shortly after birth.
• The newborn may have learning issues at later development stages, often requiring professional pedagogical aid.