From research to action: Oral Misoprostol for preventing postpartum haemorrhage during home delivery in rural Bangladesh

Authors

  • Md Masud Rana MSc Student, Public Health in Developing Countries, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London
  • Laura Jane Gisby Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager, The Prince's Youth Business International
  • Md Abdullah Al Mamun Lecturer, Department of Food Technology and Nutrition Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v4i2.23688

Keywords:

Misoprostol, Postpartum haemorrhage, Uterotonics, Home birth, Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

While Bangladesh has experienced a remarkable 40% decline in maternal mortality over the past ten years, it remains a major health problem. Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the most prevalent preventable causes of maternal mortality in the country, accountable for over a quarter of the deaths. In Bangladesh, over 70% of the births take place outside health centres, mostly in poor rural areas. This leads to lack of access to conventional injectable uterotonics (i.e. oxytocin) during the third stage of labour to prevent or treat PPH. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of oral misoprostol as an intervention to prevent PPH in rural Bangladesh during home births that take place without trained birth attendants. A review of the existing literature in electronic database, shows robust evidence from Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)on the effectiveness of oral misoprostol in preventing PPH. Misoprostol has proved significantly effective (RR 0.58, CI 0.380.87) in reducing PPH incidence and to go have a very good safety profile. Furthermore, field trials and operational studies have already proven the feasibility, acceptance and safety of scaling up the use of misoprostol in rural Bangladesh. Therefore, we recommend oral misoprostol to be included in the National Maternal Health Strategy as an intervention to control PPH during home birth in rural Bangladesh.

South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.4(2) 2014: 2-6

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
142
PDF
191

Author Biography

Md Masud Rana, MSc Student, Public Health in Developing Countries, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London



Downloads

Published

2015-07-06

How to Cite

Rana, M. M., Gisby, L. J., & Mamun, M. A. A. (2015). From research to action: Oral Misoprostol for preventing postpartum haemorrhage during home delivery in rural Bangladesh. South East Asia Journal of Public Health, 4(2), 2–6. https://doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v4i2.23688

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Reviews

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).