By Malorie Maddox, August 8, 2017
Two Nebraska Mothers Speak Out on Their Challenging Pregnancies
Two mothers both went into the delivery room knowing their lives were at risk. They both suffer from placenta accreta, a condition that is on the rise.
At age three, Zayne Kreikemeier already has a need for speed. His entry into this world also came quickly. “Dr. Bonebrake, I can remember walking into the room and saying we have to go now,” said Zayne’s mother, Tisa. During an ultrasound, Tisa Kreikemeier found out she had placenta percreta. It is the rarest form of placenta accreta.
“Percreta is a situation where the placenta invades through the muscle of the uterus and actually will perforate through the uterine wall,” said Dr. Bonebrake, a perinatologist at Methodist Women’s Hospital. “Depending on where the implantation of the placenta is, it can invade other organs such as the bladder or rectum.”
Tisa endured a difficult and painful pregnancy. In the meantime, she and a team at Methodist Women’s Hospital came up with a plan. At week 34, she went into labor early. “Our original plan was to have a chaplain come in and pray with us because we knew there was a possibility I wouldn’t survive the surgery,” she said.
For moms with any type of placenta accreta, massive blood loss is a huge concern heading into delivery. “One of the biggest things we can do in regards to controlling hemorrhaging and bleeding is identifying it before we go in for delivery,” said Dr. Bonebrake. He says placenta accretas are difficult to diagnose but they are getting better and better at it. “If mom has bleeding in the second or third trimester, it can be important and something to talk to their doctor about,” said Dr. Bonebrake.
Tisa was diagnosed early and her team at Methodist Women’s Hospital had a plan. They were ready to deal with her blood loss. “Dr. Bonebrake, I remember hugging me and saying, ‘I’ve got you. Everything is going to be just fine,'” she said. And it was. Zayne only spent 14 days in the NICU. Tisa, who didn’t get to see her son born, lost nearly 14 units of blood. But again, her team was ready. She pulled through the delivery. “I’m embracing the fact that I did survive and how I can help others,” she said.
Tisa started sharing her difficult journey. She met first-time mom-to-be Rachel Moormeier. Rachel was diagnosed with placenta accreta. “She was a big support system for me,” Rachel said. She delivered her son, Fordham, at 35 weeks. In her case, they were able to save her uterus. “I do hope to have more children someday. It’s a scary thought to potentially have to go through this experience again,” she said. But for now, both mothers are cherishing their beautiful sons.
Dr. Bonebrake says placenta accreta cases have dramatically risen since the 1970s.
- 1970s: 1 in 4,000
- 1980s: 1 in 2,500
- 2000s: 1 in 550
One line of thought is as the increase in cesarean sections rises so do the number of placenta accreta cases. But Dr. Bonebrake says this should not scare mothers. He has seen plenty of cases where mothers have had multiple c-sections and do just fine.
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Reposted with permission from WOWT News.
