Around 15,000 women die each year in Pakistan due to pregnancy related complications, which is the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) is the second leading cause of death in the world right now, and incidence of primary PPH in the developing world varies according to population of a country, and facilities available.

These views were expressed by doctors during a workshop organised by Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Pakistan (GOCP) at Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Thursday. The basic objective of the workshop was to train midwives, and nurses, to handle PPH cases without panic.

Addressing a large crowd of young and energetic midwives, gynecologist Dr Nighat Shah said that the basic skills to treat a patient while hemorrhaging is important for midwives to know, as they have to work in low resource areas of Pakistan.

During the interactive workshop, midwives and nurses were taught how to make a swift decision when faced with a situation where a patient has a complicated history, or a decision needs to be made quickly regarding the medical management of the patient. Those training session was attended by midwives from far flung areas of interior Sindh.

The causes of PPH include, Uterine Atony which, simply means that the uterus does not naturally contract after the delivery which poses serious complication for a woman. The second cause is trauma, which occurs after prolonged pregnancy. The first priority is to save a patient’s life no matter what, as they do not want the patient to die, Dr Shah explained.

Meanwhile, president of SOGP, Dr Shershah Syed, said that the basic problem they are facing in health care for a long time is lack of training of a midwife, or a nurse as they are integral to a hospital. “The midwives and nurses need to be trained as they lift a tremendous amount of burden during emergencies and delivery,” he said.

Other facilitators of the workshop said that improvement of healthcare in Pakistan is a real challenge, as one in ten children die before reaching the age of five and two out of five children are malnourished.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=220061