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Published in: 08/14/2018

Zero Maternal Deaths by Hemorrhage

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PAHO/WHO

Zero Maternal Deaths by Hemorrhage is an initiative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and its Latin American Center for Perinatology, Women’s, and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR) dedicated to prevent maternal deaths by postpartum hemorrhage.

The project mobilizes governments, civil society, and communities where obstetric hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal deaths, mainly in Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

 

The initiative aims to save mothers’ lives, which will also benefit their families and their countries’ development.

In order to achieve this, a few key things must happen:  health services must be strengthened, barriers to access removed, staff trained to handle obstetric hemorrhage, and the availability of essential medicines and safe blood for transfusions ensured.

Zero Maternal Deaths by Hemorrhage also works toward empowering women so their rights and preferences are respected and they are encouraged to seek timely qualified medical care.

zeromaternalThe project addresses the mother-baby dynamic starting from before conception. It promotes family planning, as well as measures to ensure that newborn babies have the best start in life, such as delayed umbilical cord clamping until three minutes after being born to improve iron levels and lowering the risk for anemia, and the promotion of breastfeeding.

Zero Maternal Deaths by Hemorrhage has been implemented since 2014 with the support of the Latin American Federation of Obstetric and Gynecology Societies (FLASOG).