Study findings show the use of a neoprene suit can save the lives of women suffering from obstetrical hemorrhaging due to childbirth. Hemorrhaging accounts for about 30 percent of the more than 500,000 maternal deaths worldwide each year due to childbirth, nearly all in poor countries, according to the researchers.

Results from a pilot study on the use of the suit, conducted at selected sites in Egypt, appear in today's online edition of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The findings will be published in the April issue of the journal.

Suellen Miller, CNM, PhD, who is an international maternal health expert and director of the Safe Motherhood Programs of the UCSF Women's Global Health Imperative, directed the pilot study, which evaluated use of a non-pneumatic anti-shock garment, or NASG.

The NASG is a simple, lightweight reusable neoprene suit similar to the bottom half of a wetsuit. It is made up of five segments that close tightly with Velcro. Crucial compression is achieved by combining the three-way stretch of the neoprene and the tight Velcro closures.

When in shock, the brain, heart and lungs are deprived of oxygen because blood accumulates in the lower abdomen and legs. The compression from the NASG shunts blood from the lower extremities and abdominal area to the essential core organs: heart, lungs and brain. Within minutes of application, a hemorrhaging woman can regain consciousness and vital signs will normalize, according to Miller.

In the pilot study, 158 obstetrical hemorrhage patients underwent standard hemorrhage treatment and 206 patients with obstetrical hemorrhaging underwent standard treatment plus the NASG.

Study results showed a 50 percent decrease in blood loss among wom
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Contact: Nancy Chan
nchan@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-885-7277
University of California - San Francisco
27-Feb-2006