Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) involves heavy bleeding after giving birth and can cause a severe drop in blood pressure. If not treated quickly, PPH can lead to shock and even death. Prevention and management of this condition are of critical importance.

The Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) recently released a new version of their Clinical Practice Guideline on the Prevention and Management of PPH and used information from the BORN Registry to update it with relevant, Ontario-specific data.  Between 2020 and 2022, the rate of PPH was 3% in Ontario.

Rachel Warren – Knowledge Translation and Research Specialist at the AOM - says understanding the incidence of PPH in Ontario helped the Task Force contextualize the rates reported in the literature. Interpreting the applicability of research results is important, especially when making recommendations.  BORN data also informed the Task Force discussions about current midwifery practices and outcomes in Ontario which Rachel describes as ‘incredibly helpful’.

This updated AOM guideline is especially important in light of BORN’s recent examination of maternal mortality associated with hospital births in Ontario over a 20-year period. The study found that pregnancy-related hemorrhage was the leading cause of deaths within 42 days of birth.  Work is currently underway to distinguish antepartum vs postpartum hemorrhage as well as characteristics of individuals who die from hemorrhage vs those that do not.  BORN is also comparing its findings to other high-income countries to learn about different population risks for hemorrhage and prevention strategies.