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Abstract
Background: Placenta previa is one such major obstetric complication to maternal health, especially where there are low resources, such as in Pakistan. There is limited information about maternal outcomes concerning placenta previa in Pakistan despite the global investigative works.
Objective: To evaluate the maternal outcomes and risk factors of women with diagnosed placenta previa in a tertiary care hospital in Mardan, Pakistan.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Duration and Place of the Study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mardan medical complex, Mardan from December 2024 to May 2025.
Materials & Methods: A total of 100 pregnant women diagnosed with placenta previa at 28 weeks of pregnancy and above. A standardized proforma was used to collect data on demographic, clinical, and obstetric variables. Maternal outcomes were anemia, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), and admission to the ICU. The data were analyzed statistically with SPSS 27 using a p-value of less than 0.05 as significant.
Results: The average age of the participants was 29.5 ± 4.5 years, and the average BMI was 26.1 ± 2.9 kg/m². Seventy-two percent of the patients showed anemia, 63 percent PPH, and 21 percent ICU admission. Significant correlations were found between anemia and low socioeconomic status (p = 0.032), non-education (p = 0.041), and residency in a rural area. At the same time, PPH was strongly associated with high parity (p = 0.017), a history of cesarean sections (p = 0.028), and being aged 35 years or above (p = 0.045). The women who had hemoglobin levels <9 g/dL and were mothers of advanced age had ICU admissions more often.
Conclusion: Placenta previa is related to maternal morbidity to a large extent. The targeted management and early detection of high-risk women in the resource-squeezed environment could enhance the maternal outcomes.