The UCSF Multidisciplinary Approach to the Placenta Service (MAPS) Program diagnoses and cares for people with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). This high-risk pregnancy complication doesn't usually cause problems during pregnancy, but it can lead to life-threatening bleeding after the birth.
In an uncomplicated birth, the placenta separates from the uterus and is delivered after your baby is born. In people with PAS, the placenta doesn't separate. Instead, it remains attached to the wall of the uterus (placenta acreta); attaches more deeply, to the uterine muscle (placenta increta); or grows through the uterus and sometimes into other organs (placenta percreta).
PAS is usually suspected based on risk factors and confirmed with a routine ultrasound. To diagnose it, we use special, targeted imaging scans to look more closely at the placenta and uterus. The patient then meets with a maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) doctor to review and discuss the results.
If PAS is suspected or diagnosed in your pregnancy, our multidisciplinary team will follow your condition closely. The team often recommends that you give birth at UCSF. Also, if PAS has been diagnosed, a hysterectomy is often done after the baby is born.
Our team of specialists includes gynecologic surgeons; maternal-fetal medicine specialists (MFMs); anesthesiologists; interventional radiologists; neonatologists; pathologists; nursing teams from the birth center, operating room and intensive care nursery; and others, if needed. Multiple team meetings are held to coordinate pregnancy care, plan for the delivery, and provide an optimal, safe outcome for you and your baby.
