Placental Position and Its Correlation to the Development of Preeclampsia

INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia affects 5-8% of pregnant women, and it is the most important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. In the past two decades, ultrasonography proved to be the easiest, safest, and most accurate method for assessing placental location. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship and the incidence of preeclampsia in patients with the centrally located placenta and in those with the laterally located placenta. METHODOLOGY: 200 pregnant women without preeclampsia with larger than 36 weeks of gestational age (Group A) were included in the study and 200 cases with preeclampsia (Group B) are included, and their placental position by USG were correlated retrospectively. The placenta is taken as central when it is located Anterior/ Posterior/ Fundal and placenta is taken as Lateral when it is located on the Right / Left lateral walls of the Uterus. RESULTS: Among 200 pregnant women with preeclampsia, 88(44%) had centrally located placenta, and 112(56%) had laterally located placenta, So the overall risk of developing preeclampsia with laterally located placenta was found to be statistically significant (p-value 0.04). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that laterally located placenta on ultrasound is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia. So these pregnancies require careful obstetric management to achieve a more favorable outcome and to reduce the maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with preeclampsia. One of the major advantages of this study is it is not an extra test. From the routine ultrasonography, the location of the placenta can be used to correlate with the development of preeclampsia.