A life-threatening pregnancy complication linked to cesarean sections has surged from extremely rare to alarmingly common. Placenta accreta, where the placenta fuses to uterine scar tissue from previous C-sections, affected just 1 in 4,000 pregnancies in the 1970s. Recent reports show rates as high as 1 in 272 deliveries.
The condition can be deadly. About two-thirds of women with placenta accreta hemorrhage during childbirth, and patients can bleed to death in under 10 minutes. A Vanderbilt University study found that 5 to 7 percent of patients with severe cases died in childbirth. Between 2010 and 2023, twenty-five women died from placenta accreta in Florida alone.
Dr. Robert M. Silver, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the University of Utah, called placenta accreta “the single most important consequence of unnecessary cesarean sections.” As C-sections have become more common, so has accreta. Research shows a woman’s risk jumps with each cesarean surgery.
Many women interviewed developed placenta accreta after C-sections they believed were unnecessary. Mykalynn Penny’s baby flipped into proper position before delivery, but her doctor advised proceeding with the planned surgery anyway. Her second pregnancy resulted in placenta accreta, emergency bleeding, and a hysterectomy at age 32.
Most hospitals lack resources to properly treat the condition. Patients often must travel hundreds of miles to specialized centers. The University of Utah’s placenta accreta clinic draws 40 percent of its patients from out of state, requiring women to relocate near the hospital for weeks or months during pregnancy.
See: “A Grave Condition Caused by C-Sections Is on the Rise” (November 6, 2025)
