Placenta previa rates in relation to prior cesarean section deliveries, A 15-year single-center analysis

Background: To estimate the rate of placenta previa in relation to prior delivery via cesarean section (CS) during a 15-year period in an academic medical center, King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of all pregnant women who delivered at KAUH from January 2001 to December 2015. For each year, the research team recorded the total number of deliveries, as well as the number and percentage of CS deliveries and patients with placenta previa. The association between placenta previa and previous CS was assessed. Results: Out of the 62,701 deliveries at KAUH during the study period, 13,404 were CS deliveries, producing an overall CS rate of 21.4%. The total number of patients with placenta previa was 260, for a placenta previa rate of 4.14 cases/1,000 births. Of patients with placenta previa, 135 had a prior CS (60%), whereas 91 multigravida women had no previous CS (40%).There is positive correlation between number of CS and number of placenta pravia.Conclusion: In spite of, significant positive correlation between number of CS and number of placenta previa. The rate of placenta previa was not significantly different between patients with or without prior CS delivery. This suggests that factors other with previous CS could play role in the development of placenta previa especially in primgravida.