Postpartum hemorrhage

Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the main causes of maternal mortality. Objective: To characterize postpartum hemorrhage. Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study was carried out in the Anesthesiology and Resuscitation service of Dr. Agostinho Neto Hospital, between 2015 and 2017. The study population was made up by 65 patients. The following variables were studied: biological age, gestational age, type of hemorrhage, estimated amount of bleeding, etiology, hemodynamic and clinical laboratory variables, fluid resuscitation and blood products replacement, complications. We used empirical methods (document analysis, instruments for the collection of information), theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction), and mathematical-statistical methods (percentage, mean, standard deviation and confidence intervals). Results: The average age of the patients was 24.2±6.2 years; the gestational age was 34.2±6.2 years; 73.8% completed the pregnancy by natural delivery, while the interval between delivery and the onset of postpartum hemorrhage was 2.46h±53 min. Uterine atony (61.5%) was the most common cause of hemorrhage. Shock was the most common complication (100%), which conditioned the use of high volumes of replacement fluids and blood products. Hysterectomy and ligation of hypogastric arteries was the most used surgical technique (52.3%). Conclusions: During the study period, postpartum hemorrhage was an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the Anesthesiology and Resuscitation service of Dr. Agostinho Neto Hospital.