BORNO STATE — The World Health Organization (WHO) and other researchers published a three-part series in The Lancet recommending improved detection and treatment protocols to reduce global maternal deaths resulting from postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum bleeding causes 43,000 deaths globally each year and impacts approximately 27 million women annually.

Dr. Olufemi Oladapo, a physician with the WHO's Special Programme on human reproduction, co-authored the series. Visual estimation of postpartum blood loss misses hemorrhages approximately half of the time. Adam Devall said. "It can become a medical emergency very quickly."

Researchers conducted a clinical trial involving more than 200,000 women across Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. This trial tested early detection using a calibrated drape combined with clear treatment criteria and simultaneous interventions. Devall stated, "The blood then collects into this specially designed drape, which has calibrated lines on it."

The report indicates that the mortality rate from postpartum hemorrhage is more than 200 times lower in well-resourced countries compared to under-resourced countries. Oladapo said, "The rate of postpartum hemorrhage is not any different between high-income countries and low-income countries. What is different is what is given when these conditions are identified."

Ioannis Gallos, a member of the WHO's Maternal and Perinatal Health Unit, said, "Typically, the women say, 'I feel like I'm dying.'" Gallos added, "They actually sense it when they are bleeding too much." He also noted, "If no one was to act on it, within 10 to 20 minutes, easily a woman can die."

Oladapo said, "Women should not be dying from PPH in this day and age, given what we know." He said, "I was running around hospitals trying to get blood. By the time I got back she was gone." The authors also recommend simulation-based training for medical care teams to manage postpartum hemorrhage. The drug oxytocin can reduce postpartum bleeding but requires refrigeration.