Postpartum Hemorrhage

Another complication could be pre eclampsia, this is a medical condition that presents itself with high blood pressure, protein in urine and

The fifth goal is to increase maternal health in countries with a focus on reducing the maternal mortality rate by three-fourths and universal access to reproductive health both by 2015. Despite a 43% reduction in maternal deaths since 1990, there are still a large number of women who die during childbirth from preventable causes such as hemorrhaging (United Nations, 2015, p. 38).

Postpartum hemorrhage kills more new mothers than any other cause—an estimated 71,800 annually ("Driving progress toward 2015").

Postpartum complications are typically health complications in women that we associate with a full term delivery. For women who experience a miscarriage, there is a marked risk for post-partum complications as well. If you have recently terminated a pregnancy, or experienced spontaneous miscarriage, it is important to know what health complications may arise especially those complications associated with hormonal imbalances. Postpartum thyroiditis is one of the most under diagnosed health complications in women who have had a sudden end to a pregnancy. As a condition that can lead to the secondary development of depression, complications with weight gain, and a complication with body temperature regulation, many doctors simply dismiss the

The stern figures of the global burden of pregnancy-related deaths are now so well known. Every year, approximately eight million women suffer pregnancy-related complications 289 000 women die due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and 6.6 mil¬lion children below 5 years of age die of complications in the newborn period and of common childhood diseases. Worldwide, the majority of maternal and newborns deaths occur around the time of birth, typically within the first 24 hours after childbirth. In developing countries, one woman in 16 may die due to pregnancy-related complications compared to one in 2800 in developed countries. Many of these maternal and neonatal deaths more than 80% of could be prevented or avoided through actions

Plan & Implementation: The discussion I will have with my patient today is if the bleeding is similar to a period or just a pink on the toilet tissue. Has the bleeding stopped after a few days or is it continuous? Is she having any painful cramping or intense pain? As with her other pregnancies did she have any bleeding or miscarriages? The vaginal bleeding in any trimester is often common and serious symptom, and needs to be investigated the prevalence and predictors of bleed (Sun et al 2012). The patients in the second trimester have anatomical abnormalities as suspected of cervical incompetence and a cervical cerclage was done (Sharma et al

“It is believed that HELLP syndrome affects about 0.2 to 0.6 percent of all pregnancies” (American Pregnancy Assosiation, 2016, para 1). HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count. Although the cause to HELLP syndrome is still unkown, there are several signs and symptoms the pregnant patient and her health care provider should be aware of in order to prevent serious and life threatening consequenses to the mother and baby.

There are a plethora of tests and studies performed when a mother is at risk of developing HELLP Syndrome. These tests include; hemolysis -Red blood cells, abnormal peripheral smear, Lactate dehydrogenase >600 U/L, Bilirubin > 1.2 mg/dl, Elevated liver Enzyme levels, Serum aspartate aminotransferase >70 U/L, Lactate dehydrogenase >600 U/L, and Low Platelets counts (American Pregnancy Association, 2009).

We observed 25 complications in women, with 10 (2.5%) in Group 1 and 15 (2.3%) in Group 2 (Table 5). There was no statistically significant difference for any individual complication type or for overall complication rates. Likewise, there was no significant

Although once thought to be a rare disorder, recent statistics show that Accreta occurs as often as once in every 533 deliveries (Wu, Kocherginsky & Hibbardm, 2005). The outcomes for mother and baby can be life threatening due to massive blood loss and the need for an emergency hysterectomy to control bleeding, even when Accreta is diagnosed early in the antepartum period. Those couples not diagnosed early, experience a traumatic delivery for which they and their partner were not prepared. Those couples who were diagnosed early, experience months of stress, fear, and uncertainty as they await the birth of their child and fear for the life of both the mother and infant. Even when both mother and baby survive, the experience leaves a lasting mark on the lives of the couple and their family. However, to date no studies have been reported that examined the long term impact of an Accreta experience on women and their partners.

A more rare cause of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy is the immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disorder characterized by the anti-platelet glycoprotein antibodies that stimulate the platelet destruction in the spleen.6 There are two types of ITP: the acute form that is common in children, is associated with viral infections and is self-limiting and the chronic form which predominantly affects women. The diagnosis is clinical. Thrombocytopenia in ITP is generally moderate but with platelet count usually below 100,000/µL and the symptoms are in direct relation to the platelet levels. Patients could be completely asymptomatic or present ecchymosis, petechiae, purpura, gums bleeding or menorrhagia.1 Unlike gestational thrombocytopenia,

Angiogenesis is the key process for proper development of the placental vascular system. Angiogenic factors and their receptors are believed to play roles in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, thus made them be potential candidate biomarkers for pre-eclampsia. The most widely studied serum markers for pre-eclampsia are VEGF and PlGF, and their antagonists, which are sFlt-1 and sEng. 5,7,8

Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) is a multi-organ disease process that develops as a result of pregnancy and regresses in the postpartum period. It usually develops after 20 weeks of gestation in a woman who had normal blood pressure. It is defined as an elevation of systolic and diastolic pressures equal to or above 140/90 mm Hg. In clinical practice, the terms PIH and preeclampsia are used interchangeable, but in preeclampsia the woman also has protein in her urine indicating that there is renal involvement as well. The only know cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the fetus. It is a relatively common problem of

This woman was invited to the maternity assessment unit due to spontaneous rupture of membranes. This is her first birth in this country as her other 3 children were born in India- All normal vaginal deliveries. Although, her antenatal period had been low risk, she had not had a recent enough full blood count (FBC) taken, which would put her at risk of having a low Hb level and due to her parity – she could also be at risk of a postpartum hemorrhage (Royal college of obstetricians & gynaecologists, 2009). Therefore, the decision was made to put her on delivery suite rather than in the low risk birth centre.

EP cases in northern Nigeria are of late presentations, tubal rupture with associated hemodynamic instability and consequences compounded by poor health system that differs from the global trend of early diagnosis and more conservative management (Mairiga, et al., 2009).