I knew that one of the reasons women died historically, and continue to die, after childbirth was because of uterine , but I never quite knew what that meant. It happens because when the placenta separates, hundreds of capillaries are still sending blood out. If the uterus doesn't contract quickly enough or at all, there isn't enough pressure to stop the bleeding. That happens in up to 10% of births!
Death happens very fast if it's not caught quickly. A big part of the problem for doctors, nurses, and midwives is knowing when too much blood is being shed after a delivery, because some blood is normal.
This New York Times story (gift link) tells of a new and, importantly, inexpensive way of catching the 10% of dangerous bleeding: a thin plastic sheet with a calibrated pouch at one end. It's placed on the bed after the birth, and if the amount of blood that runs into the pouch in the next few hours exceeds 300 milliliters, the obstetric team springs into action.
The treatment combines several things: a shot of oxytocin to increase contraction, a clotting drug, and external massage of the uterus, plus IV fluids to restore blood volume. Those treatments had been used separately in the past, but it's now known that using them together has the best outcome.
The article does not mention who invented the drape and calibrated pouch. Whoever it is, they are saving a lot of lives.
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