Birthing suit, a simple reusable garment modeled after military anti-shock pants, can prevent as many as 100,000 childbirth deaths every year, a study by University of California in San Francisco researchers, has found. The garment is designed to push the blood from the legs upwards towards vital organs if a woman hemorrhages after delivering a baby.
Under the study, the researchers studied the effects of the suit on 364 obstetrical hemorrhage patients in Egypt, a country with very high incidence of maternal deaths due to hemorrhage. Around 158 of the patients were given the drug misoprostol to plug the blood loss, while 206 were given both the drug and the special suit.
The researchers found that the blood loss among women with the suit was 50 per cent less than those who were not given the suit. The death rate among hemorrhaging women fell by 69 per cent due to the use of the suit. “The results are dramatic, particularly given the suit can be easily applied by anyone. No medical training is necessary. In our research, women who appeared clinically dead, with no blood pressure and no palpable pulse, were resuscitated and kept alive for up to two days while waiting for blood transfusions,” said Suellen Miller, lead author of the study.
The garment, which is wrapped tightly around the abdomen and legs of the woman, pushes the blood upwards to the brain, heart and lungs, among other vital organs. Made from neoprene, a kind of rubber used in the manufacture of wetsuits, the birthing suit can prevent deaths in women in developing countries, where most childbirths happen homes without medical care. In many cases, the blood is pushed to the lower parts of the body, creating a lack of adequate blood flow to the brain and heart. The leading cause of maternal deaths, hemorrhage is behind 30 per cent of the 500,000 annual deaths among women from impoverished countries.
Medically called the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG), the birthing suit has Velcro straps that can help adjust the suit according to the patient's body. “Even though there have been variations of this suit used in the past, we see this as being somewhat revolutionary. We have demonstrated its efficacy in a limited way with the Egypt pilot study and will continue now with larger, more rigorous studies,” Miller said.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology's James Walker said the NASG could help save the lives of thousands of women worldwide. “It does seem a practical solution,” he said, but added that the cost of the suit would be an important factor as it is meant for women in developing countries. “Cost would come into it and the suits do not solve the problem, they just buy you time. A woman who is haemorrhaging would still need to be given a blood transfusion and if medical facilities are not nearby it might not make that much difference,” he said.
The findings of the study have been published in the
British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
