Accreta & Me

In this two part podcast, Helena and Naomi are joined by three international experts in placenta accreta spectrum.

Prof Eric Jauniaux, from the EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London (UCL), who is the lead author on the most recent Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (listed below) guideline on the management of PAS.

Dr Albaro Jose Nieto-Calvache from Colombia, who works as an emergency care and obstetric doctor at the Fundación Valle del Lili, and has led multiple research studies on performing uterine conserving surgery for PAS.

Prof Yalda Afshar from the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, who leads the PAS programme at UCLA and has a special interest in the pathophysiology of PAS.

These episodes focus on how our understanding of PAS has evolved over the past 5-7 years, and why this sometimes leads to confusion amongst healthcare providers and patients who are using older terminology, as to which cases meet the criteria to be diagnosed as PAS. This is an important topic as we can only continue to build knowledge, expertise and ask the right research questions if all healthcare providers are using the same terminology and criteria to diagnose PAS. These two episodes provide expert knowledge from three international PAS providers who are at the forefront of both PAS clinical care and publishing evidence based research on PAS. 

Some interesting and important publications are available here for further reading:

1. Nieto-Calvache AJ, Palacios-Jaraquemada JM, Jauniaux E, Hussein AM, Afshar Y, Coutinho CM, Bartels HC, Suarez-Revelo MA, Aryananda RA, Campos C, Benavides JP. Rethinking placenta accreta spectrum: a topography-based framework for prenatal imaging and individualized surgery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2026 Jul 17:S0002-9378(26)00369-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2026.07.020. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42468864.
2. Jauniaux E, Bartels HC, Afshar Y. Placenta accreta spectrum in the 21st century: Challenging dogma and redefining disorder. PLoS Med. 2026 Jun 12;23(6):e1005142. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1005142. PMID: 42284360; PMCID: PMC13262927.
3. Jauniaux E, Bhide A, Hussein AM, Lees C, D'Antonio F, Robson SC, Kaelin Agten A, Jurkovic D; Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta Spectrum: Diagnosis and Management: Green-Top Guideline No. 27a. BJOG. 2026 Sep;133(10):e93-e128. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.70239. Epub 2026 Jun 29. PMID: 42374711; PMCID: PMC13485456. 

In this two part podcast, Helena and Naomi are joined by three international experts in placenta accreta spectrum.

• Prof Eric Jauniaux , from the EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London (UCL), who is the lead author on the most recent Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (listed below) guideline on the management of PAS.
• Dr Albaro Jose Nieto-Calvache from Colombia, who works as an emergency care and obstetric doctor at the Fundación Valle del Lili, and has led multiple research studies on performing uterine conserving surgery for PAS.
• Prof Yalda Afshar from the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, who leads the PAS programme at UCLA and has a special interest in the pathophysiology of PAS.

These episodes focus on how our understanding of PAS has evolved over the past 6-7 years, and why this sometimes leads to confusion amongst healthcare providers and patients who are using older terminology, as to which cases meet the criteria to be diagnosed as PAS. This is an important topic as we can only continue to build knowledge, expertise and ask the right research questions if all healthcare providers are using the same terminology and criteria to diagnose PAS. These two episodes provide expert knowledge from three international PAS providers who are at the forefront of both PAS clinical care and publishing evidence based research on PAS. 

Some interesting and important publications are available here for further reading:

1. Nieto-Calvache AJ, Palacios-Jaraquemada JM, Jauniaux E, Hussein AM, Afshar Y, Coutinho CM, Bartels HC, Suarez-Revelo MA, Aryananda RA, Campos C, Benavides JP. Rethinking placenta accreta spectrum: a topography-based framework for prenatal imaging and individualized surgery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2026 Jul 17:S0002-9378(26)00369-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2026.07.020. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42468864.
2. Jauniaux E, Bartels HC, Afshar Y. Placenta accreta spectrum in the 21st century: Challenging dogma and redefining disorder. PLoS Med. 2026 Jun 12;23(6):e1005142. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1005142. PMID: 42284360; PMCID: PMC13262927.
3. Jauniaux E, Bhide A, Hussein AM, Lees C, D'Antonio F, Robson SC, Kaelin Agten A, Jurkovic D; Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta Spectrum: Diagnosis and Management: Green-Top Guideline No. 27a. BJOG. 2026 Sep;133(10):e93-e128. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.70239. Epub 2026 Jun 29. PMID: 42374711; PMCID: PMC13485456. 

In this episode Canadian mums Eleni from Toronto and Stephanie from North Bay, share their experiences of having a pregnancy complicated by Placenta Accreta Spectrum. 

If you are interested in getting in touch with Placenta Accreta Canada they can be contacted at [email protected] or via instagram @pas.canada

In todays episode, we discuss venous thromboembolism (blood clots) in pregnancy with Prof Fionnuala Ní Aínle. Prof  Ní Aínle explains the risk factors for developing blood clots during pregnancy, and how blood clots are diagnosed and managed during pregnancy.

Prof. Fionnuala Ní Áinle

Consultant Haematologist at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) and Rotunda Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Prof Ní Áinle is a Full Clinical Professor at University College Dublin (UCD) School of Medicine. She is privileged to treat patients affected with Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) and her research focus is Thrombosis in Pregnancy. Director of the Irish Network for VTE Research and co-directs the SPHERE Research Group, UCD Conway Institute. Prof. Ní Áinle was elected to the Council of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) in 2022 (Class of 2028) and Serves as Chair of the ISTH Guidelines & Guidance Committee and Vice-Chair of the Membership & Communications Committee. Prof Ní Ainle was recently appointed National Clinical Lead for VTE, Irish Health Services Executive.

In today's episode, Dr Alex von Au from the university of Heidelberg speaks with Placenta Accreta mum Larissa Mantel about her experience of having a pregnancy complicated by PAS.

In der heutigen Folge spricht Dr. Alex von Au von der Universität Heidelberg mit Larissa Mantel, einer Mutter mit Plazenta accreta, über ihre Erfahrungen mit einer durch PAS komplizierten Schwangerschaft.

In this weeks episode, Helena speaks with our friend and colleague Dr Alex von Au from the University of Heidelberg , Germany. Dr Au tells us about the Placenta Accreta Service at her university hospital, and how patients are managed and cared for when diagnosed with PAS. 

In der heutigen Folge spricht Helena mit unsere Kollegen Dr. Alex von Au von der Universität Heidelberg. Wir besprechen verschiedene Themen, darunter wie Ihre Interesse am Placenta-accreta Spektrum geweckt wurde, wie die Versorgung von PAS-Patientinnen in Deutschland organisiert ist, und Was erwartet Patientinnen in Heidelberg während der Schwangerschaft in Bezug auf Diagnose und Geburtsplanung.

In this weeks episode, we are delighted to be re-joined by PAS mums Elaine, Shauna and Aisling who originally shared their stories in 2022 here on Accreta & Me. During this conversation the mums talk about how life has been since they first shared their experiences. We are often asked by PAS mums what they might expect as the years roll on so we are hopeful hearing from Elaine, Shauna and Aisling will help and provide familiarity and comfort. 

As always, if you are a mum or family member impacted by PAS please get in touch at [email protected].

Following on from last weeks episode, we hear more from Scottish mum and Placenta Accreta Scotland Co-Founder Emma and her partner Ollie. Ollie describes his experience of Accreta as partner and dad. 

Welcome to Season 5 of Accreta & Me. In this episode we talk to Scottish mum Emma. Emma is a wonderful advocate for mums impacted by PAS and is keen to ensure Scottish mums have resources and support available to them. Emma and Naomi (from Placenta Accreta Ireland) have recently launched Placenta Accreta Scotland. This is part 1 of 2 episodes. In part 2, coming next week, Emma's partner Ollie joins the conversation.

On todays episode, we are joined by Prof Eric Jauniaux from University College London Hospitals. We discuss how our understanding of placenta accreta spectrum has changed over the past few years and how research is helping us to better understand this often misunderstood condition. We also discuss global challenges in PAS care and Eric's work in low and middle resource countries.   

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