A major health scandal is brewing within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) as a new campaign shines a spotlight on a "silent killer" in maternity wards. Five separate hospitals failed to diagnose Amisha Adhia with Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS), a potentially fatal condition, before a lone obstetrician intervened to save her life. Now, Adhia is leading a crusade to ensure no other woman faces the same terrifying lottery of survival.

The condition, where the placenta attaches too deeply into the uterine wall, can cause catastrophic hemorrhage during childbirth. Despite its severity, Adhia’s condition was missed repeatedly until Dr. Chineze Otigbah at Queen’s Hospital in Romford correctly identified the danger. "I was reassured into danger," Adhia told The Guardian. "I was carrying a condition that could have killed us both." Her story has become the catalyst for the "Action for Accreta" campaign, which demands urgent reforms in how the NHS screens for this escalating threat.

A Rising Tide of Risk

The urgency of the campaign is driven by data. The incidence of Placenta Accreta is rising globally, linked directly to the increase in Cesarean sections and IVF treatments—procedures that leave scar tissue on the uterus, inviting the placenta to embed too deeply. The NHS estimates the condition affects between 1 in 300 and 1 in 2,000 pregnancies. Yet, as Adhia’s case proves, frontline awareness remains dangerously low. "Not every hospital has PAS specialists, so subtle warning signs can be overlooked," warns Dr. Otigbah.

• The Systemic Failure: Adhia was "assessed, downgraded, and ignored" by five institutions, a pattern of dismissal that highlights the systemic gap in women’s health diagnostics.
• The Campaign Goal: Adhia and her husband Nik are lobbying the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to update guidelines to include better detection for "atypical" forms of the condition.
• The Expert View: Prof. Donald Peebles, NHS national clinical director for maternity, acknowledges the risk, stating that early identification is critical for life-saving care.

Saving Mothers, One Diagnosis at a Time

The launch of "Action for Accreta" is more than a patient advocacy effort; it is a demand for structural change. With C-section rates in England now surpassing vaginal births (45% vs 44%), the population at risk is exploding. The campaign argues that the NHS is fighting a modern obstetrics war with outdated tactics.

Amisha Adhia survived because one doctor looked closer. Her mission now is to ensure that survival is not a matter of luck, but a guarantee of the system. "I felt unheard. I thought I was going to die," she recalls. Her voice is now the loudest in the room, fighting to ensure that for the next mother, the diagnosis comes before the emergency.