We determined the role of mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) in the prediction of placental abruption (PA) prior to caesarean section. Data obtained between January 2011 and July 2014 from patients (n = 33) with PA and healthy control subjects (n = 67) matched for age- and gestation-stage were analysed. Pre-operative and post-operative MPV and PDW were significantly different between the PA and control groups when cut-off values for MPV were set at 9.23; sensitivity at 87.8% and specificity at 46.2%; positive predictive value (PPV) at 48.3%; and negative predictive value (NPV) at 90.0%. When the cut-off value for PDW was set at 18.5, the sensitivity was 100% and specificity 71.6%, PPV 40.7% and NPV 59.3% for the prediction of PA. MPV and PDW levels were significantly higher in cases of PA. These results suggest that clinical evaluation of MPV and PDW displays reasonable sensitivity and specificity as a marker of PA, prompting the need for more research in this area of clinical study.