Placenta accreta spectrum in vulnerable population: How to provide care for pregnant refugees struggling to access affordable healthcare

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2022 Dec;35(25):5031-5034. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2021.1874906. Epub 2021 Jan 17.

Abstract

Introduction: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder is a serious condition that frequently requires special care in specialized centers. Migrant pregnant women face economic and social disadvantages that place them in situations of pervasive health disparities and, thus, poorer pregnancy outcomes can be expected.

Purpose: Describe the care of migrants without health insurance, affected by PAS and treated in a reference center for PAS.

Methods and results: The institutional registry of PAS in a private Latin American center was reviewed in search of migrant patients, identifying three patients without health insurance, with PAS, referred outside the traditional administrative channels, in the context of an inter-institutional collaboration program.

Conclusion: Migration imposes additional difficulties in the management of complex obstetric pathologies such as PAS. We recommend interinstitutional collaboration as a strategy to bring patients affected by PAS to experienced hospitals.

Keywords: Placenta accreta; healthcare access; migration.

MeSH terms

  • Costs and Cost Analysis
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Placenta Accreta* / therapy
  • Pregnancy
  • Refugees*
  • Vulnerable Populations