Battling Blood Loss After Delivery

Postpartum hemorrhage has been on the rise throughout the U.S. for decades and is one of the top three leading causes of maternal death. With a suite of hemorrhage risk and response tools in Epic, North Memorial Health of Minnesota prevented more than 150 postpartum hemorrhages for new mothers in their delivery rooms in 2018.

These improvements reduce hemorrhages by more than half compared to the previous year, improving on reductions made in 2017 when these features were first implemented.

Nurses at North Memorial perform a hemorrhage risk assessment for each expecting mother, and the assessment is updated with every shift change. Guidance in Epic and standardized order sets remind clinicians to prepare blood transfusions in advance for mothers deemed most at risk for postpartum hemorrhage and encourage preventive measures like administering oxytocin during the third stage of labor.

Along with a quantitative blood loss calculator, these tools play a vital role in helping clinicians keep an eye on the mothers most at risk, take action to reduce that risk, and respond immediately when hemorrhages do happen. Standard tools can also address health disparities for moms and babies, improving care for all.

Epic community members can learn more from North Memorial’s UGM slides and audio.