BACKGROUND: Hemorrhage continues to be a leading cause of maternal death in developing countries. The 2012 World Health Organization guidelines for the prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) recommend oral administration of misoprostol by community health workers (CHWs). However, there are several outstanding questions about distribution of misoprostol for PPH prevention at home births.
METHODS: We conducted an integrative review of published research studies and evaluation reports from programs that distributed misoprostol at the...
In this commentary co-authored by VSI and the Regional Experts’ Summit Group, 35 ob/gyns and public health experts from 12 countries in Africa call for political commitment to expanding access to misoprostol for its many uses in maternal health.
In Zambia, most of the maternal deaths due to PPH occur in places where there are few skilled birth attendants or a lack of skills or resources to manage bleeding and shock. This brief summarizes VSI’s Zambia program that trained providers on the distribution of misoprostol tablets to women in order to prevent PPH.
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) makes a significant contribution to the number of maternal deaths in Nigeria. This brief summarizes research demonstrating misoprostol is a safe and effective means to control PPH at home births in five communities in Northern Nigeria.
This brief summarizes the final results a collaborative community-based pilot project of VSI, AMOG, the Bixby Center at UC Berkeley, and PSI. Results show that antenatal care visits and additional community-based strategies, such as TBAs, are key opportunities to reach women with misoprostol and educate them on its use for prevention of PPH.
Final results shared at the dissemination meeting on 3 March 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This brief highlights results from the Ifakara Health Institute and VSI project to protect women from postpartum hemorrhage at home births in four districts of Tanzania.
The results from this collaborative operations research project between the ICDDR,B, RDRS, VSI and the Bixby Center at UC Berkeley show that the incorporation of misoprostol into clean delivery kits is a feasible intervention to prevent excessive bleeding after childbirth in the high numbers of women delivering at home in this densely populated country.
This brief summarizes the findings of the VSI/KOGS misoprostol for PPH pilot program in Kenya, including that the direct distribution of misoprostol to women through antenatal care visits, as well as through Community Midwives at delivery, increased the number of women who receive protection from postpartum hemorrhage.
This brief summarizes the final results from a collaborative project of the VSI/Ghana Health Service pilot program in Ghana to address maternal deaths due to postpartum hemorrhage. The results demonstrate that the distribution of misoprostol through antenatal care visits increased the number of women who received protection from postpartum hemorrhage and is a key opportunity to reach more mothers with safe motherhood messages and ultimately reduce maternal deaths.
VSI CEO, Pam Norick; Family Care International President, Ann Starrs; and Drs. Clara Ejembi (Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria) and Kasum Thapa (Jhpiego-Asia Region), published a commentary highlighting new global recommendations and case examples from Nigeria and Nepal that illustrate community engagement and empowerment as critical strategies in successful postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) programming with misoprostol.