Maternal health: Postpartum bleeding may be prevented with this low-cost drug!

(Image for representational purposes only)

New Delhi: Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths worldwide. Also known as postpartum bleeding, the condition turns fatal when a birthing mother loses more than 500 ml or 1,000 ml of blood within the first 24 hours following childbirth.

In order to prevent this from happening, doctors normally use oxytocin right after the delivery of the baby. Misoprostol may be used in areas where oxytocin is not available.

However, a study involving 20,000 women in 21 countries has helped scientists discover a low-cost drug that may help reduce bleeding in women with postpartum haemorrhage.

The trial published in the recent issue of the journal Lancet, involved a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 193 hospitals worldwide.

Women who were bleeding despite oxytocin injections were subjected to early administration of tranexamic acid. The trials were carried out from March 2010 to April 2016 on 20,000 women. The effect of this acid was seen on women who were bleeding after C-section deliveries and hysterectomy due to post-partum haemorrhage.

As per the Deccan Chronicle, the women were given one gram of intravenous tranexamic acid. Yet, if the bleeding continued after 30 minutes or restarted after 24 hours, then a second dose of one gram of the medicine was administered.

The trials carried out were at a stage where the women would bleed to death. It was found that the medicine reduced the bleeding.

The study recommends that this medicine be given by doctors at an early stage where there is the onset of haemorrhage. In its guidelines to World Health Organization, researchers have found that the results showed tranexamic acid can be included in primary post-partum haemorrhage but the treatment must be given as soon as possible after the onset, Deccan Chronicle reported.