New Strategy Could Prevent Leading Cause Of Maternal Death In Africa
- Date:
- October 2, 2005
- Source:
- BMJ-British Medical Journal
- Summary:
- A relatively cheap and easy to use drug could save the lives of thousands of women in the developing world, according to a study in this week's British Medical Journal.
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A relatively cheap and easy to use drug could save the lives ofthousands of women in the developing world, according to a study inthis week's British Medical Journal.
Postpartum haemorrhage (excessive blood loss after childbirth) isthe leading cause of maternal death in Africa. Several drugs reduceblood loss, but in poor areas they are often inaccessible, tooexpensive, and too difficult to use.
The study took place in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, wherematernal death is more than 8 per 1000 live births. Immediately afterdelivery, 330 women received misoprostol tablets and 331 receivedplacebo (dummy pills).
Significantly fewer women in the misoprostol group experienced severe blood loss.
In rural Guinea-Bissau, 75% of women give birth at home, andworldwide only about 50% of women give birth in health facilities. Sostrategies are needed to increase the safety of deliveries attended byunskilled birth attendants, say the authors.
"Our trial suggests that misoprostol would play an importantpart in such a strategy to reduce complications of delivery andmaternal mortality," they conclude.
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Materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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