TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa mother is sharing her story after she ended up back in the hospital weeks after childbirth.
Anja Crist and her husband, Dillon, married in 2021. The couple welcomed their son, Charlie, in 2022.
Anja said she had an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, but weeks after giving birth, she still had heavy bleeding.
"I was bleeding a lot more than I thought I should be at that point, six weeks postpartum. I was actually supposed to be going out of town. I decided to go to the hospital, where they immediately put me under for surgery," she recalled.
Doctors determined that Anja's placenta had not fully detached from her uterus during childbirth, leading to severe bleeding. They suspected she had a rare condition known as placenta accreta, a complication in which the placenta is attached to and grows deep in the uterine wall.
"The placenta adheres to the uterus and it can be very dangerous because if you’re delivering vaginally then the placenta is not coming out right after the baby and your body starts pushing out too much blood," said Anja.
Physicians at Tampa General Hospital and USF Health Morsani College of Medicine helped her successfully deliver a second child via C-section.
She is now a mother to Charlie, 2, and Crew, 1.
She established a placenta accreta education fund through the USF Foundation to benefit the Morsani College of Medicine residents, fellows and faculty members.
In January, she completed a half-marathon as part of the Clearwater Marathon and Running Festival to raise awareness and money to support the foundation.
Anja said she was hesitant to share her story at first because she did not want to scare other mothers, but she believed education is key for a better outcome.
"I was actually very hesitant to share it. I’m more of a private person, but I knew that if I shared it, I could potentially make a difference," she said.
Dr. Jose Duncan is a Morsani College of Medicine faculty member and a physician with Tampa General Hospital. He was part of a team that guided Anja during her second pregnancy.
He said two risk factors put women at a greater risk for placenta accreta.
"The biggest risk factor is previous cesarean deliveries and then the combination of prior C-sections and a placenta previa which is when the placenta covers the cervix," he said.
"For example somebody with three prior C-sections, the risks are going to be a lot higher than somebody who has one prior C-section and the placenta previa," he added.
Dr. Duncan said Anja did not have any risk factors.
"Anja never had a C-section and she did not have placenta previa which made her case a little bit more difficult," he said.
Anja said she is grateful for her team of doctors.
"I feel like it was all part of God's plan and to have me here and be safe and deliver safely. My kids are safe, that’s the most important thing. They’re safe and healthy so I feel very very grateful."
For more information on the Placenta Accreta Education Fund, visit this link
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