Once placental abruption has been suspected, action should be swift and decisive because the prognosis for mother and fetus is worsened by delay. Treatment consists of initial resuscitation and stabilization of the mother, treatment of the abruption, and recognition and management of complications. It is individualized based on the extent of the abruption, maternal and fetal reaction to this insult, and gestational age of the fetus. Maternal resuscitation and treatment of hypovolaemic shock are a subject of a review in its own right, and will not be discussed further. For the purpose of management or abruption, Sher and Statland divided placental abruption into three degrees of severity (3).
These are mild (grade 1): not recognized clinically before delivery and usually diagnosed by the presence of a retroplacental clot; moderate (grade 2): intermediate, the classical signs of abruption are present but the fetus is still alive; and severe (grade 3): the fetus is dead and coagulopathy may be present.
There are three practical options for management:
Expectant: in the hope that the pregnancy will continue
Immediate caesarean section
Rupture the membranes and aim at vaginal delivery
In mild placental abruption, the bleeding may stop and the symptoms gradually resolve with satisfactory fetal monitoring and the patient can often be managed as an outpatient. The management of moderate or severe placental abruption is resuscitation, delivery of the fetus and observation for and correction of any coagulation defect that arises. This requires management in the labour ward with intensive monitoring of both mother and fetus. A trial of labour and vaginal delivery is recommended whenever tolerated by the maternal–fetal pair. Labour is usually rapid and progress should be monitored with continuous fetal heart rate assessment. If fetal distress is present then delivery should be expedited in the form of Caesarean section. Major abruption should be regarded as an emergency, requiring multidisciplinary input from the obstetrician, anaesthetist and haematologist. A fulminant maternal DIC can ensue within hours of a complete abruption and delivery should be effected, as it is the only means with which to halt the DIC. Replacement of blood and its components should begin before surgery. Abruption also places the patient at risk of severe postpartum haemorrhage. This is as a result of a combination of uterine atony and coagulation failure. Invasive monitoring with arterial lines and central venous access may be necessary, and patients are best treated in the highdependency
unit. Urine output should be closely monitored, as renal failure is a potential complication. Multiple studies have shown expectant management with or without tocolytics to be safe and effective in a select population of patients with preterm placental abruption. In some observational studies, tocolysis allowed a median delay of delivery of several days without increasing neonatal or maternal morbidity, including the need for transfusion or delivery by Caesarean section. However, in the absence of randomized controlled trials, the benefits of tocolysis remain uncertain (7).
The management of placenta praevia depends upon clinical presentation, severity of bleeding and degree of praevia. Currently, the diagnosis of placenta praevia is made using ultrasound. Most cases presenting with APH would already be known to have a low-lying placenta. Those cases, in which the placenta was low-lying at the time of routine anomaly scan should receive a repeat ultrasound scan at 36 weeks to check placental location. Some of these cases will present with antepartum bleeding. Initial haemorrhages, referred to as ʻwarning haemorrhagesʼ are often small and tend to stop spontaneously. Delivery may be needed for severe, intractable or recurrent bleeding. Fetal morbidity
is associated with iatrogenic prematurity. In the report of confidential enquiries into maternal mortality over 2000–2002 in the UK (ʻWhy mothers die 2000–2002ʼ), there were 17 maternal deaths due to haemorrhage.
Four out of these 17 deaths were due to placenta praevia. Controversy surrounds the antepartum management of those cases found to have a low-placenta at the anomaly scan, particularly the ones who have never had antepartum bleeding. Moreover, many women will be admitted with vaginal bleeding due to known low-lying placenta, but the bleeding would stop spontaneously, and not recur for several days. Current guidelines by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) recommend that such women be kept admitted to the hospital. This advice is based on a small randomized trial that showed no difference between inpatient and outpatient management of cases of placenta praevia. However, the authors of the RCOG guideline felt that uncommon, but potentially serious, maternal complications are unlikely to come to light with a trial with small numbers. The recommendation for inh