Incidence, Risk Factors, and Aetiologies of Primary Postpartum Haemorrhage After Vaginal Delivery in Kasr Al Ainy University Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Approximately 15% of all pregnancies (about 20 million) suffer from acute severe obstetric complications. The first 24 hours postpartum represent the period with the highest chance of mortality. The most evident complication is haemorrhage, solely accounting for 27% of all maternal deaths worldwide. Haemorrhage occurring postpartum accounts for 73% of all cases. Primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is defined as the loss of at least 500 mL of blood after vaginal delivery or 1,000 mL of blood after Caesarean section within 24 hours of delivery. Aim: This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the incidence and determine risk factors of PPH after vaginal delivery in Kasr Al Ainy University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. Methodology: The study is a multivariate cross-sectional study. Single population proportion formula was used to determine the sample size in accordance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was collected via assisted questionnaires, and results were statistically interpreted with a confidence interval of 95% to gather the odds ratio (OR) of significant risk factors of PPH. The SPSS® (IBM, Armonk, New York, USA) statistical package was used. Results: PPH incidence in Kasr Al Ainy in the period of this study was 8.1%. Atonic factors were implicated in 67% of all PPH after vaginal delivery. Most evident risk factors were prolonged labour (OR: 5.1), history of previous PPH (OR: 4.25), hypertension (OR: 2.53), and age ≥35 years (OR: 2.29), respectively. Conclusion: The authors’ research concluded that most cases of PPH were mainly of atonic causes, with prolonged labour being the most evident risk factor.