Postpartum Haemorrhage
Traditional Definition
Blood loss of > 500ml. following vaginal delivery
Blood loss of >1000ml. following cesareandelivery
Functional Defination: Excessive bleeding that makes a
patient symptomatic ( e.glightheadedness, vertigo,
syncope) and/or results in signs of hypovolemia( e.g
hypotension, tachycardia oliguria)
A 10% decrease in postpartum HB concfrom prepartum
levels
Incidence
About 5% of all deliveries
Classification of Postpartum
haemorrhage
Primary( Early PPH) –Occurs in first 24
hours after delivery
Secondary (Late PPH)–Occurs after first 24
hours and within six weeks post partum
Etiology of Postpartum haemorrhage
Tone –Uterine atony
Tissue –Retained tissue/clots
Trauma –laceration, incisions, rupture,
inversion
Thrombopathy-coagulopathy
Uterine Atony
Defn: Lack of effective contraction of the uterus
after delivery
Commonest cause of PPH( 80 –90%) cases
Atony related to;
1: Overdistension( xple
gestation,polyhydramnios,macrosomia)
2: Uterine
fatigue/exhaustion(prolonged,rapid,induced,aug
umented labour)
Predisposing Factors for PPH -Antepartum
Previous PPH or manual removal of placenta
Placental abruption especially if concealed
Intrauterine fetal demise
Placenta previa
Gestational hypertension
Over distended uterus (e.g twins,
polyhydramnios)
Prexisting maternal bleeding disorder.
Predisposing Factors for PPH -Intrapartum
Operative delivery –cesarean or assissted
vaginal delivery
Prolonged labour
Rapid labour
Induction or augmentation
Chorioamnionitis
Shoulder dystocia
Internal podalic version
Acquired coagulopathy
Prevention
Be prepared
Active management of the third stage
-Prophylactic oxytocin with delivery of anterior shoulder
or immeidately after delivery
10 U IM or 5 U IV bolus
10-20 U/L N/S IV run rapidly at 100-150 ml/hr
-Early cord clamping and cutting
-Palpate the uterine fundus and confirm the uterus is
contracted
-Controlled cord traction (gentle) with suprapubic
countertraction
-Uterine massage after delivery of the placenta, as
approriate
-If placenta has not delivered after 15 minutes, infuse
oxytocin at 20 units/L of cristalloid at 100-150ml/hr
-Consider oxytocin infusion after placental delivery
Diagnosis –Is this a PPH?
Consider predisposing factors
Observe vaginal loss
Express blood from vagina following C/S
REMEMBER
-Blood loss is consistently underestimated
-Ongoing trickling can lead to significant blood
loss
-Blood loss is generally well tolerated to a point
Diagnosis –What is the cause?
Assess the fundus
Inspect the lower genital tract
Explore the uterus
-retained placental fragments
-uterine rupture
-uterine inversion
Assess coagulation
Postpartum haemorrhage-
Management
A=Airway
B=Breathing
C=Circulation
D = DRUGS
Management –ABC’s
Talk to and assess woman
Get HELP
Monitor vital signs
Remember that compensatory responses to blood loss in
these patients are excellent & may give you a false
sense of security
Large bore 2 IV access: active fluid resuscitation
Crystalloid –lots!
CBC, cross match and consider coagulation studuies
Elevate the legs to increase return of blood to the heart
Foley catheter
Management –Assess the fundus
Simultaneous with ABC’s
Atony is the leading cause of PPH
Uterine massage
If boggy –bimanual massage
Rules out uterine inversion
May feel lower tract injury
Evacuate clot from vagina and/or cervix
May consider manual exploration at this time
Management –Oxytocin
5 units IV bolus
20 units per L N/S IV wide open
10 units intramyometrial given
transabdominally
Manual Exploration: Is there a need?
No need for routine manual exploration
Risks:
-Infections
-Hemorrhages
-Pain
If no response to:
Uterine massage
Bimanual massage
Oxytocin
Proceed to Manual Exploration
Manual exploration is need to :
Rule out uterine inversion
Palpate cervical injury
Remove retained placenta or clot from
uterus
Rule out uterine rupture or dehiscence
Management –Additional Uterotonics
Ergometrine –caution in hypertension
-o.25 mg IM or 0.125mg IV
-Intervals of 5 mins maximum dose 1.25mg
Hemabate (carboprost tromethamine) –asthma
is relative contraindication
-15 methyl –prostaglandin F2alpha
-O.25mg IM or intramyometrial
-Intervals of 15 –90 mins maximum of 8 doses
(2mg)
Management –Additional Uterotonics
Cytotec (misoprostol) caution in asthma
-800/1000 micrograms pr; 200 mcg po +
400mcg sublingual; & 200mcg po +
400mcg sL + 400mcg pr
Duratocin (carbetocin-long acting oxytocin
agonist)
-100 micrograms IM or 100 micrograms IV
over 1 min.
If bogginess or haemorrhage continues
Consider abdominal aortic compression that is a
life saving intervention when there is a heavy
bleeding (whatever the cause)
-Circulating blood volume is restricted to the
upper part of the body and thereby to the vital
organs
-BP is kept up
-Blood is prevented from reaching the
bleeding are in the pelvis
-Volume is conserved
If bogginess or haemorrhage continues
Other emergency therapies:
tamponade with esophageal catheter,
emergency embolization, emergency
laparotomy with pelvic vessel ligation or
hysterectomy
Tamponade
Uterine packs-pack entire uterine cavity
with gauze. Thought to be dangerous &
ineffective by most obstetrians.
Should give i.v antibiotics
Regardless of form of tamponade used Hb
& urine output shd be closely monitored
Important esp. with the gauze pack bse a
large amt of blood can collect behind the
pack.
Arterial embolisation
Done by an interventional radiologist
Patient haemodynamically stable
Selective procedure done with single
bleeding vessel & it can be occluded
With diffuse bleeding area/single bleeding
vessel cant b identified-large artery
feeding multiple smaller vessels in
bleeding area is occluded
Laparatomy
Incision –midline vertical
Retractor –self retaining for adequate
lateral exposure
If descrete vessel bleeding –clamp it-ligate
with appropriate suture material
Atony or bleeding adjacent to the uterus &
difficult to control –do uterine atery
ligation
Uterine vessel ligation
Bilateral ligation(o’ leary stitch) becoming first line
procedure to control bleeding
Advs.
(1)uterine arteries easily accessible vs internal illiac artery
(2) procedure > successful
(3)field of dissection generally not near the ureters & illiac veins
Procedure:
identify the ureter
No. 0 chromic catgut/polyglycolic acid suture on a large curved
needle
Needle passed thru lateral aspect of lower uterine seg. As close to
the cervix as possible, then back thru the broad ligament just
lateral to the uterine vessels tied to compress the vessels
If above not successful vessels of the utero-ovarian arcade are
ligated just distal to the cornua by passing a suture thru the
myometrium just medial to the vessels
Compression sutures
B-lynch suture; a pair of vertical brace no.
2 chromic sutures are secured around the
uterus, appearing as suspenders,to
compress together the ant & post uterine
walls.
Internal iliac artery ligation
Techinically difficult
Usually successful in < half of patients in which
its attempted
Need adequate exposure
Peritoneum over common iliac artery opened &
dissected down to bifurcation of external &
internal iliacs
Then areolar sheath covering internal iliac is
incised longtudinally & a right-angle clamp is
carefully passed beneath the artery.
Internal iliac ligation cont’d
Careful not to perforate contiguous large
veins esp internal iliac vein.
Non-absorbable suture is inserted into
open clamp, jaws closed,suture carried
around vessel & vessel ligated.
NB: Pulsations in external iliac if present
before tying the ligature shd be present
after as well.
Internal iliac atery ligation cont’d
Mechanism of action here is an 85% reduction
in pulse pressure in the arteries distal to the
ligation.
This converts an arterial pressure system into
one with pressures close to those in the venous
circulation which are more amenable to
hemostasis via simple clot formation.
Bilateral ligation doesn’t seem to interfere with
subsequent reproduction
NB: HYSTERECTOMY-Last option
Management –Bleeding with firm uterus
Explore the lower genital tract
Requirements -appropriate analgesia
-good exposure and lighting
Surgical repair of vaginal and cervical
lacerations
May temporize with packing
Management –Continued uterine bleeding
Consider currettage
Correct possible coagulopathy –PTT, fibrinogen
If coagulation is abnormal
-Correct with clotting factors, platelets and
PRBC’s, cryoprecipitate
If coagulation is normal
-Rule out uterine rupture or inadequate
incision repair
-Consider uterine ligation, hysterectomy.
Management
ABC –ENSURE that you are always ahead
with your resuscitation
All obstetrical providers should have
access to medications to treat PPH
Consider need for more expert help
conclusion
Be prepared
Practise prevention
Assess the loss
Assess maternal loss
Resuscitate vigorously and appropriately
Diagnose the cause
Treat the cause
Secondary PPH
Occurs in approx 1% cases
Aetiology:
Retained placental fragments
Intrauterine infection(often coexists with the above)
Submucous fibroid
Lacerations and haematomas
Trophoblastic disease(a very rare but important
cause)
Chronic uterine inversion
management
Intravenous crystalloid
X-match blood
Intravenous antibiotics if any signs of sepsis
Under anaesthesia try to remove any placental
tissue
Follow this with cautious curettage
NB: Any tissue shd always be sent for
histopathological diagnosis-keeping in mind the
very rare case of trophoblastic disease