Preventing Postpartum Haemorrhage
Death during childbirth is a tragedy that is still unfortunately known to occur, despite tremendous medical advances. Childbed fever was once the chief danger to the mother and the baby. But today, it is bleeding after delivery that has become one of the leading concerns of most pregnant women . In simple words, Postpartum Hemorrhage is excessive bleeding of over 500 ml from the vagina, after the birth of the child. Even a small amount of blood loss is dangerous for women who suffer from anemia. Annually PPH is a significant cause of the pregnancy deaths that occur worldwide, and around 25% of maternal deaths. The primary cause of postpartum hemorrhage is excessive bleeding, uterine atony (that is a failure of the uterus in contraction during delivery), retained placenta, ruptured or inverted uterus , vaginal, cervical or perineal laceration. Women with hypertension due to pregnancy, or those who experience an extended second stage of labor, face a risk of hemorrhage. Those who have their labors induced or increased with Pitocin, wherein babies are delivered through a vacuum removal or those who give birth to “large for gestational age” infants, are also at risk of suffering from haemorrhage after birth. Prenatal care during pregnancy is one way to minimize the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.