UTS-led research to save mothers from deadly haemorrhage

While Australia may be one of the safest places on earth to give birth, new research is now focussing on severe postpartum haemorrhage which continues to be a rare and mysterious killer.

A collaboration led by UTS with Monash University and the Australian Red Cross Blood Service will seek to better understand the condition, particularly cases of severe haemorrhages requiring blood transfusions.

"Specific knowledge about the needs of such women will inform strategies for better management and blood supply needs."

The condition is so rare no exact figures currently exist.  Data is being collected Australia-wide from more than three-hundred hospitals where fifty or more births take place each year.  It brings together experts in midwifery, obstetrics, haematology, critical care, anaesthetics, epidemiology and biostatistics.

The research differs from earlier studies that have focused on severe haemorrhage across the population, clumping women who have given birth within the overall findings. Specific knowledge about the needs of such women will inform strategies for better management and blood supply needs.

"Because of the condition's rarity very little is known about its causes."

UTS Professor Elizabeth Sullivan in the Faculty of Health said local coordinators within each hospital would report once a month on new cases of severe postpartum haemorrhage.  She said the same study is taking place across New Zealand hospitals.

"Because of the condition's rarity very little is known about its causes," Professor Sullivan said. "It requires rapid response to unearth vital information about its causes and how it can be managed to improve outcomes for mothers."

Read the full article on the Newsroom: UTS-led research to save mothers from deadly haemorrhage