A new mother in Tanzania who took misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhage after delivering her baby at home. Bixby Medical Director Dr. Ndola Prata argues in the February 2010 edition of the British Medical Journal that tools for measurement of blood loss can extremely useful in low resource settings where postpartum hemorrhage common and timely intervention is not available. Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide.
Bixby Medical Director, Ndola Prata was invited to respond in the British Medical Journal on a study which found that a more accurate assessment of blood loss is not, by itself, sufficient to affect rates of postpartum hemorrhage. In Dr. Prata’s response she noted that the trial was based in 13 European countries where postpartum hemorrhage is a rare event ( incidents of 1-2% ). Dr. Prata argues that accurate blood measurement can be extremely useful in low resource settings where postpartum hemorrhage is much more common (incidents of 5-20%) and timely intervention is not available. Dr. Prata explains, “Tools for the measurement of blood loss can be used to standardise timing of administration of an intervention, decide when to refer the patient, and plan for administration of additional interventions. Thus, research to help identify culturally acceptable blood collection methods, determine their accuracy and generalisability to various populations, and train providers on their use should be encouraged.” Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide and a large focus of Dr. Prata’s research
Read the full editorial here Measurement of postpartum blood loss 02.2010