Low-Tech Saves Lives
Jennifer Wilder
Like many Nigerian women, Jamila delivered her first baby at home, with the help of a traditional birth attendant. But following the birth, her uterus failed to contract and she began to bleed heavily. The birth attendant failed to recognize the severity of blood loss, and by the time Jamila reached the nearest primary health center, she was in shock and her life was in jeopardy.
Luckily, the health worker at the primary health center had been trained to use the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment to halt postpartum hemorrhage and reverse shock. Starting at the ankles, neoprene fabric is snugly tightened with Velcro straps around the legs, gradually moving up to the thighs and finally across the abdomen below the breasts, shunting blood to the heart, lungs and brain, restoring consciousness, pulse and blood pressure. Once stabilized, Jamilla was moved to the nearest district hospital, where she waited five hours for available blood replacement and a doctor.
The amazing non-pneumatic anti-shock garment is part of the continuum of care model - a comprehensive, low-tech package of interventions that addresses the causes of postpartum hemorrhage morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings. Put simply, the archetype works because it keeps the woman alive long enough to be transported and seek further treatment.
Nearly 536,000 women die annually from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. At least 25 percent of these deaths are the result of postpartum hemorrhage, which can be treated successfully by trained health-care providers using the continuum of care model.
