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

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
• migration
• healthcare access

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors extend special appreciation to the Clinical Research Center team of Fundación Valle del Lili (FVL) specially to Harold Londoño and Andres Mauricio Castro for support during the development of the article.