Postpartum Hemorrhage

Amanda Monroe

Postpartum hemorrhage is excessive bleeding (more than 500-1000ml) after the birth of a

baby. This is a rare but serious complication. About 4 percent of women will have postpartum

hemorrhage. It usually occurs during the first day after having a baby, but could happen up to

12 weeks after. (Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, 2016)

Normally after the baby is delivered, the uterus continues to contract. The placenta is delivered

and these contractions keep compressing the blood vessels in the uterus to slow bleeding. If

the contractions in the uterus arent strong or frequent enough, these vessels keep bleeding

freely and hemorrhage occurs. Excessive bleeding could happen if the uterus tears, flips inside

out, or if pieces of the placenta remain attached to the uterine wall as well. (March of Dimes,

2016)

Your risk for postpartum hemorrhage increases if you had a very fast or very long labor, you

have a large baby (greater than 8lbs), multifetal pregnancies, a C-section delivery, or if you

were given medications to induce or to slow down labor. Your risk also increases with any

tearing during labor, obesity, infection, or if you had very high blood pressure during pregnancy

or labor. (Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, 2016)

If you do experience postpartum hemorrhage after delivery, your doctor and nurses will try

many different things to stop the bleeding. Uterine massage or compression, certain drugs, and

procedures to tie off blood vessels and remove any remaining placenta could be used. If these

things dont stop the bleeding, abdominal surgery may be needed to find the source of the
bleeding. Removal of the uterus is a last resort. You will likely also be given hydration fluids and

blood products through an IV to help supplement the blood that has been lost. (Children's

Hospital of Wisconsin, 2016)

It is important to monitor your bleeding after you have been discharged from the hospital as

well. If you notice that you are having excessive blood loss of more than one peripad an hour,

pale or cool clammy skin, nausea, dizziness, or swelling and pain around your vagina or

perineum, you should call your health care provider or 911 right away. (March of Dimes, 2016)
Works Cited
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. (2016, December 2). Postpartum Hemorrhage. Retrieved from
http://www.chw.org/medical-care/fetal-concerns-center/conditions/pregnancy-
complications/postpartum-hemorrhage/

March of Dimes. (2016, December 2). Postpartum Hemorrhage. Retrieved from

http://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/postpartum-hemorrhage.aspx