What is a Postpartum Hemorrhage?

A Dangerous Complication After the Delivery of a Baby

Dec 17, 2009 J.D. Hicks

Postpartum hemorrhage is a potentially life threatening event that can occur after a
woman delivers a baby and immediate action must be taken to stop bleeding.
In spite of the pain, childbirth can be a beautiful experience when everything goes
smoothly. When something goes wrong it can be terrifying for both mother and her
spouse or partner. Postpartum hemorrhage is a rare but serious complication that
occurs after a mother gives birth to her child and needs to be treated immediately
to avoid maternal fatality.

What is Postpartum Hemorrhage?

According to the March 15, 2007 issue of the peer reviewed medical journal American Family
Physician, postpartum hemorrhage occurs in up to 18% of all births and in up to 3% of vaginal
births. Postpartum hemorrhage occurs when a woman loses at least 500 ml of blood or more
after the delivery of her infant. This may occur immediately after the birth or hours later.

When the hemorrhage does not occur immediately, a woman may feel fine after the delivery of
her child and then all of a sudden experience a sudden gushing of blood later on.

Causes of Postpartum Hemorrhage

There are a number of risk factors that can make a woman more susceptible to a postpartum
hemorrhage. These include:

• Placenta detaching from the uterus too soon

• Placenta covering the cervix
• A very large baby or too much amniotic fluid in womb
• Pregnancy with more than one baby
• High blood pressure due to pregnancy
• Long labor
• Infection
• Obesity
• Medications to induce labor
• Medications to stop labor
• Requiring forceps or vacuum extraction to deliver baby
• Having many previous births

Other causes of postpartum hemorrhage include:

• Placenta not being delivered intact and some pieces left inside uterus
• Tear in cervix, vaginal tissues or uterine blood vessels
• Problems with placental attachment in uterus prior to delivery
• Blood clotting disorders
Treating a Postpartum Hemorrhage

Immediate treatment of postpartum hemorrhage is necessary to preserve the life and health of
the mother. Postpartum hemorrhage can cause blood pressure to drop dangerously low; can lead
to shock and even death if a woman bleeds out. The treatment of postpartum hemorrhage
depends on the severity of the bleeding, the cause and how easy it is to get the bleeding to stop.
A blood transfusion may be necessary when too much blood is lost. According to the University of
Virginia Health System some common treatments include:

 Giving a woman medication to stimulate contractions in the uterus and expel any leftover
placental pieces

 Massaging the uterus to stimulate contractions

 Surgically removing leftover membranes or placental pieces by doing a D&C

 Packing the uterus with gauze or sponges for 24 hours

In most cases postpartum hemorrhage can be controlled by the above measures. In severe
cases doctors may be forced to perform a hysterectomy if bleeding cannot be controlled any
other way. Doctors do not want to remove the uterus unless they absolutely have to and this is
done only as a last resort to prevent the death of the mother.

Most women make a complete recovery from postpartum hemorrhage and go on to have more
children. A pregnant woman should notify caregivers of a prior hemorrhage as she is at some risk
of recurrence.

Summary:
Postpartum hemorrhage is a potentially life threatening event that can occur after
a woman delivers a baby and immediate action must be taken to stop
bleeding.
Postpartum hemorrhage occurs when a woman loses at least 500 ml of
blood or more after the delivery of her infant. The Causes of Postpartum
Hemorrhage are Medications to stop labor,Other causes of postpartum
hemorrhage include:Problems with placental attachment in uterus prior to
delivery, Blood clotting disorders. Immediate treatment of postpartum
hemorrhage is necessary to preserve the life and health of the mother.
Postpartum hemorrhage can cause blood pressure to drop dangerously
low; can lead to shock and even death if a woman bleeds out.Massaging
the uterus to stimulate contractions. In most cases postpartum
hemorrhage can be controlled by the above measures.

Reaction:

Postpartum complications aren't all about depression; but sleep deprivation, a hormone
imbalance, or thyroid problem can actually cause it but postpartum hemorrhage occurs
that is very detrimental to a woman’s life! Reexamination of the patient's vital signs and
vaginal flow before leaving the delivery area may help detect slow, steady bleeding.
Postpartum hemorrhage is the world's leading cause of maternal mortality as the World
Health Organization reported. Article cites the following risk factors: a prolonged third
stage of labor, multiple delivery, episiotomy, and history of postpartum hemorrhage, but
points out that PPH also occurs in women without any risk factors, so physicians must
be prepared to manage this condition at every delivery. With this article it is clearly
stated that postpartum hemorrhage it within reach to be avoided. A very informative and
brief explanation all about PPH this article offered, as a student nurse I have the
responsibility to share this information to my co-students for us to be able to give a
satisfying nursing care to our client mothers who are at risk of developing this kind of
complications.