WHO has a new roadmap to tackle postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality. How much of a role does anaemia play? Talha Burki reports. Postpartum haemorrhage, typically defined as blood loss amounting to 500 mL or more within 24 h of birth, affects 14 million women annually. It is the world's leading cause of maternal mortality, with around 70?000 deaths every year, almost all of which occur in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The failure of the uterus to contract, a phenomenon known as uterine atony, is widely thought to be the main reason for excessive bleeding during childbirth. Andrew Shennan, Professor of Obstetrics at King's College London, UK, told The Lancet, “When you are pregnant, your uterus has a pint of blood pumped to it per minute…If the uterus stays relaxed after the baby has been delivered, it fills up with blood, the body assumes the pregnancy is ongoing and so the heart pumps more blood to the uterus, which comes straight out of the placental bed.”
展开▼
