The symptoms and signs of placental abruption vary enormously. Even the absence of ultrasound identification does not rule out a life-threatening placental abruption.
In classical extreme, profuse abruption, pain, shock, uterine rigidity and absent fetal heart sounds are evident. Consumptive coagulopathy - hypofibrinogenaemia of less than 150mg/dL, renal failure and uteroplacental apoplexy - extravasation of blood into the uterine musculature and serosa - are rarer signs.
In milder cases, the following symptoms and signs can occur singly, in combination, or none may be present at all:
The differential diagnosis is that of other causes of vaginal bleeding in the third trimester, and so it is often principally necessary to rule out placenta praevia by clinical inspection and ultrasound. Unfortunately, and contrary to popular belief, abruption and placenta praevia may both present with or without pain.
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page