An Overview on Diagnosis & Management of Placenta Previa

Placenta previa is defined as low placental implantation that covers the internal os of the cervix; either completely or partially. The condition sometimes is discovered incidentally in routine antenatal care screening, while some present with frank second or third trimester painless vaginal bleeding. The rate of placenta previa in Saudi Arabia is 4.1 per 1000 births, where all are managed by caesarian delivery. We aimed to review the literature looking for the updated placenta previa in terms of risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management. PubMed database was used for articles selection, gathered papers had undergone a thorough review. The complexity of placenta previa manifests in optimizing the outcome of both the mother and the baby. Early detection of the problem results in better outcomes due to well-planned management and anticipation. The medical team should always involve the mother in the possible negative outcome and consider the possible complications as placenta previa sometimes coexist with other placental implantation abnormalities such as increta and precreta.