Full Answer
What causes APH in pregnancy?
An antepartum haemorrhage (APH) is bleeding from the vagina that occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy and before the birth of your baby. The common causes of bleeding during pregnancy are cervical ectropion, vaginal infection, placental edge bleed, placenta praevia or placental abruption.
What is APH and symptoms?
Symptoms of antepartum haemorrhage (APH) consist of vaginal bleeding in late pregnancy and before delivery. Along with vaginal bleeding other symptoms may be- (a) In APH due to placenta previa, vaginal bleeding is painless, or bleeding occurs after sexual intercourse.
What is the most common cause of APH?
The most important causes of APH are placenta praevia and placental abruption, although these are not the most common. APH complicates 3–5% of pregnancies and is a leading cause of perinatal and maternal mortality worldwide.
What is the meaning of APH?
APHAcronymDefinitionAPHAntepartum HemorrhageAPHAsbestos, Pollution and Health Hazard (legal claims)APHAir Pre-HeaterAPHArnold Palmer Hospital (Orlando, FL)27 more rows
How do you treat APH?
In general, the patient's usual chronic medications should be continued. In the patient who has APH due to placenta previa, magnesium sulfate may be used as a tocolytic to allow the administration of betamethasone to mature the fetal lung and to allow the obstetrician to better time delivery.
What are the complications of APH?
Maternal complications of APH are malpresentation, premature labour, postpartum hemorrhage, shock, retained placenta. They also include higher rates of caesarian section, peripartum hysterectomy, coagulation failure, puerperal infections and even death.
Is APH an obstetric emergency?
Significant APH is an obstetric emergency: Any woman going to theatre with suspected placenta praevia/accreta should be attended by a consultant obstetrician and anaesthetist.
Can a baby survive placental abruption?
According to the American Pregnancy Association, fetal death occurs in 15 percent of severe placental abruption instances. The survival of the baby following a placental abruption largely depends on the severity of abruption and fetal age. The exact cause of placental abruption is unknown.
What is PPH and APH?
Antepartum haemorrhage (APH) is usually defined as bleeding from the birth canal after the 24th week of pregnancy . It can occur at any time until the second stage of labour is complete; bleeding following the birth of the baby is postpartum haemorrhage.
How does placenta previa cause APH?
Placenta praevia occurs when the placenta lies in the lower uterine segment. It can lead to the complete or partial covering of the internal cervical os. Placenta praevia increases the likelihood of APH due to poor attachment of the placenta to the uterine wall.