A drug that can prevent Postpartum hemorrhage is discovered
Postpartum hemorrhage is the loss of more than 500ml or 1000ml of blood within the first 24 hours following childbirth Postpartum hemorrhage kills an estimated 100,000 of women in a year both in poor and middle income countries.
Doctors are required to make emergency hysterectomies and most times hospitals lack little or no blood at hand which leads to the death of some of these women.
A drug that saves the lives of wounded soldiers or car crash victims has shown and proven to be a solution for women with hemorrhages during child birth.
Researchers have shown that Tranexamic acid which was invented in 1950 and tried over a six year period on about 20,000 women in 21 different countries reduced maternal bleeding deaths by a third if given within three hours.
Tranexamic acid is a little known blood clotter and it costs less than $2 a dose and doesn't require refrigeration.Shosuke and Utako Okanoto,a couple,were the ones that researched about the drug in Japan specifically meant for the purpose of preventing birth hemorrhages but a clinical trial was halted by local obstetricians.
The trial known as W.O.M.A.N which stands for World Maternal Antifibronolytic was paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Pfizer,Wellcome Trust and Britain's Health Department led by doctors at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and results have already being published in the Lancet.
According to Dr.Ian Roberts,who is one of the study lead authors said:
According to Haleema Shakur,one of the lead authors,Tranexamic acid can save women's lives and ensure more children grow up with a mother.
The results of the trial shows that the drug lowered hemorrhagic death rates by 30% and the World Health Organization has added it to a list of essential drugs and it is a must for all hospitals to have it.
A Maternal Health Specialist at the Bill Gates Foundation,Dr.Jerkel Liljestrand said,the organization will work with W.H.O and local government to make sure Tranexamic acid becomes part of the recommended treatment for Postpartum bleeding.
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| A Mother with her new born baby |
A drug that saves the lives of wounded soldiers or car crash victims has shown and proven to be a solution for women with hemorrhages during child birth.
Researchers have shown that Tranexamic acid which was invented in 1950 and tried over a six year period on about 20,000 women in 21 different countries reduced maternal bleeding deaths by a third if given within three hours.
Tranexamic acid is a little known blood clotter and it costs less than $2 a dose and doesn't require refrigeration.Shosuke and Utako Okanoto,a couple,were the ones that researched about the drug in Japan specifically meant for the purpose of preventing birth hemorrhages but a clinical trial was halted by local obstetricians.
The trial known as W.O.M.A.N which stands for World Maternal Antifibronolytic was paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Pfizer,Wellcome Trust and Britain's Health Department led by doctors at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and results have already being published in the Lancet.
According to Dr.Ian Roberts,who is one of the study lead authors said:
''Tranexamic acid acts in a different way,it allows blood to clot more quickly and so it should be given in addition to the usual measures and at the same time.Women die very quickly from this,especially in Africa because they are so profoundly anemic,half the women giving birth there start off with roughly half the red blood cells they should have,''
''If you or I had hemoglobin counts that low,we'd be breathless,doctors are forced to throw in everything they've got because they know the woman can be dead in an hour.''
According to Haleema Shakur,one of the lead authors,Tranexamic acid can save women's lives and ensure more children grow up with a mother.
The results of the trial shows that the drug lowered hemorrhagic death rates by 30% and the World Health Organization has added it to a list of essential drugs and it is a must for all hospitals to have it.
A Maternal Health Specialist at the Bill Gates Foundation,Dr.Jerkel Liljestrand said,the organization will work with W.H.O and local government to make sure Tranexamic acid becomes part of the recommended treatment for Postpartum bleeding.
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