A Plastic Sheet with a Pouch Could Be a ‘Game Changer’ for Maternal Mortality

May 10, 2023

(NPR) – It’s a startling statistic. Every year, 70,000 women around the world basically bleed to death after childbirth. That averages out to nearly 200 deaths a day and makes postpartum hemorrhage a leading cause of maternal deaths. Now a new study points to a surprisingly simple and inexpensive solution: Basically, if the woman lies on a plastic sheet with a small transparent pouch at the other end to collect the blood, the medical team has an immediate sense of how much danger she’s in and can take swift action. The cost of the sheet-with-a-pouch: Between $1-2.  (Read More)