How Kim Kardashian Manages Placenta Accreta & Retained Placenta

Kim Kardashian has been unusually candid about her obstetric complications. After delivering North West in 2013, she had a retained placenta requiring manual removal. During her second pregnancy with Saint West, doctors identified placenta accreta — a condition where the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall — making the delivery extremely high-risk. Placenta accreta can cause life-threatening bleeding and often requires hysterectomy to save the mother's life. Because of these risks, her physicians advised against further pregnancies, and her third and fourth children were born via gestational carrier. Her willingness to discuss these complications publicly helped demystify conditions that are rarely discussed. Placenta accreta has become more common alongside rising C-section rates, as uterine scars increase the risk.