Placenta Accreta Spectrum, Present and Future

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder poses significant risks to maternal health, given the complexities of screening, diagnosis, and management. To address these challenges, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) hosted a workshop on June 10-11, 2024, bringing together expert health care professionals, researchers, stakeholders, and patient advocates to identify knowledge gaps, with an overarching goal of informing future research and best practices for PAS. Key discussions revolved around the resources and infrastructure needed to advance screening, diagnosis, and clinical management of PAS, alongside ways to enhance collaboration across disciplines. Participants considered strategies to optimize existing research resources and explored opportunities to strengthen partnerships between the NICHD and key stakeholders to achieve mutual objectives. The workshop-attended by representatives from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Pan-American Society for the Placenta Accreta Spectrum, the National Accreta Foundation, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology-aimed to foster consensus on essential PAS topics and to identify clinical and research priorities in all phases of PAS care. Additionally, a critical focus of the workshop was to enhance understanding of patient experiences and needs, recognizing that patient perspectives are essential for informing future research and improving outcomes.