In 2019, at Piedmont Rockdale Hospital, near Atlanta (United States), Holly Baumstark prepares to give birth to her daughter by cesarean section. Everything had to go as during her first birth, without complications. That morning, she even ordered ballerina dresses for her future baby on Amazon. But, on the operating table, doctors discovered a major problem: her placenta was anchored in a scar left by her previous cesarean section. Fifteen hours later, Holly Baumstark died of internal bleeding.
Her husband, Lee Blasingame, watches helplessly at the scene. He will raise their two children alone, now aged 6 and 10. After a trial, a jury awarded compensation of $42 million to the family in 2025 (€36.3 million), estimating that the surgical treatment of Holly Baumstark had been faulty. The doctor has since appealed.
Placenta accreta is a rare disorder that occurs when the placenta abnormally attaches to the uterine wall, often in an area that is already scarred. In the 1970s, it affected one in 4,000 pregnancies. Today, in certain regions of the United States, it can affect nearly one in 300 deliveries. The cause: the massive increase in the use of cesarean sections.
When placenta accreta is not detected before birth, the consequences can be fatal. Two thirds of the women affected suffer a hemorrhage during childbirth, sometimes too rapid to be controlled. In more severe cases, the placenta passes through the wall of the uterus and reaches other organs, such as the bladder.
An alarming increase
“This is the most serious consequence of unnecessary cesarean sections”explains Dr. Robert Silver, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Utah. His research shows that with each additional operation, the risk of accreta increases. Yet in many American hospitals, women who have already had a cesarean section are rarely offered a vaginal delivery for their next pregnancy.
In Miami, Dr. Julie Kang warned in 2016 of the resurgence of cases. In one week, she treated two – an unprecedented figure at the time. She then founded the first specialized unit in Florida. In eight years, the number of patients there has increased from nine to more than sixty per year. In some counties, almost half of births are now by cesarean section.
Between 2010 and 2023, twenty-five women died in Florida due to placenta accreta. Despite repeated alerts, few hospitals have sufficient teams and resources to deal with massive and rapid hemorrhage. “It’s on the radar, but not as much as it should be”regrets surgeon Erin Myers.
Diagnosed in time, Maribel Sanchez was referred to a specialized center in California. At seven months pregnant, she suffered a hemorrhage and spent Christmas in the hospital with her family. However, she died two days later, leaving her newborn in intensive care for two months. Her husband Julio raises their three daughters alone: “The last eight years have been the worst of my life”he confides.
Several women interviewed by the New York Times say they were advised to have a cesarean section without a convincing medical reason. Mykalynn Penny, for example, delivered a perfectly healthy baby after a procedure deemed “safer” by his doctor. During her second pregnancy, she developed placenta accreta which cost her her uterus.
Mississippi teacher Rayven Coleman has had four C-sections. The last one almost took her life: the placenta had attached itself to her bladder and she lost five liters of blood. “They are the doctors, we think they always know what they are doing”she says today with bitterness.
Due to a lack of suitable centers, women like Rayven have to travel hundreds of kilometers to be cared for. At the University of Utah, about 40 percent of patients come from other states. “Some settle here for the last weeks of pregnancy, far from their family”explains Dr Brett Einerson, head of the service.
In France, although placenta accreta remains a rare complication, the figures are increasing, again due to the increase in the cesarean section rate. The latter increased considerably from 1980 to 2005, going from 5% to almost 20%, but has stabilized at around 21% since 2021 – a rate much lower than in the United States. If the condition remains dangerous, prenatal care – much more effective in France – makes it possible to avoid many serious cases which would not have been detected across the Atlantic.
