Placental abruption usually occurs without warning when the placenta, the organ that transports nutrition, oxygen and blood to the fetus during pregnancy, completely or partially detaches prior to delivery of the fetus. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bleeding. The findings of this study are based on a review of women who delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York between 1986 and 1996. In this study, data was analyzed from 530 pregnancies in which placental abruption occurred. These pregnancies were identified in a study of approximately 53,400 pregnancies to approximately 40,800 women.
Placental abruption quintuples the likelihood of a woman delivering a low birth weight infant.
Women with placental abruption are six times more likely to deliver their infant two weeks prematurely. The researchers also found women who smoke are twice as likely to experience placental abruption and women who abuse drugs increase their risk three-fold. Women with high blood pressure are two to four times more likely to experience this complication. While there are no known effective treatments to prevent placental abruption, the risk factors can be treated.