Severe maternal morbidity due to obstetric haemorrhage: Potential preventability

BACKGROUND: Haemorrhage in pregnancy may be life-threatening to woman and infant. The impact of severe obstetric haemorrhage can be reduced by detecting high-risk women, implementing guidelines and treatment plans, early detection of hypovolaemia and timely appropriate treatment. AIMS: To describe cases of severe maternal morbidity caused by obstetric haemorrhage in New Zealand and investigate the potential preventability of these cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multidisciplinary expert review panel was established to review cases of obstetric haemorrhage admitted to intensive care or high-dependency units over an 18-month span in New Zealand. Cases were critically analysed by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians to determine the potential preventability. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty cases were identified, most commonly due to postpartum haemorrhage with 36% (n = 43) deemed potentially preventable, mainly due to delay or failure of diagnosis (65%, 28/43) and/or failure or delay in treatment (91%, 39/43). Twenty-three per cent of cases (28/120) resulted in peripartum hysterectomy of which one-third were deemed potentially preventable. CONCLUSIONS: Prompt recognition and treatment in accordance with evidence-based guidelines is imperative to decrease the burden of morbidity from obstetric haemorrhage. An emphasis on training clinicians to identify haemorrhage in a timely way may avoid unnecessary obstetric emergencies and can improve maternity and neonatal outcomes.