Emergency hysterectomy for uncontrolled postpartum hemorrhage may be averted through uterine balloon tamponade in Kenya and Senegal

Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is responsible for more than one in three maternal deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors previously designed, and have been implementing (since August 2012), a uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) package for uncontrolled PPH called Every Second Matters for Mothers and Babies–UBT (ESM-UBT; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA) through local partners and ministries of health. Multicountry preliminary analysis demonstrated a 98% survival of women with severe uncontrolled PPH if delivery occurred at an ESM-UBT on-line facility.