By PPH Foundation
As the world marked the International Day of Action for Women’s Health on 28 May, maternal health experts called for increased investment in postpartum haemorrhage prevention as a central component of women’s health programming globally. Despite significant advances in reproductive and maternal healthcare, postpartum haemorrhage, excessive bleeding after childbirth, continues to remain one of the leading causes of maternal deaths worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 287,000 women died from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications in 2020, with postpartum haemorrhage accounting for nearly one in three maternal deaths globally. The burden remains highest in low- and middle-income countries, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa, where delays in diagnosis, shortages of blood products, limited access to emergency obstetric care, and health workforce gaps continue to affect maternal survival.
Recent global analyses published in The Lancet Global Health and BMJ Global Health emphasize that investments in maternal health systems, including emergency obstetric care, blood transfusion services, skilled birth attendance, referral systems, and postpartum haemorrhage preparedness, remain among the most cost-effective interventions for reducing preventable maternal deaths. Researchers further note that strengthening women’s health financing has direct impacts on newborn survival, family wellbeing, and long-term social and economic development.
A 2024 analysis by the United Nations Population Fund further warned that global maternal health funding gaps continue to affect access to quality antenatal care, emergency obstetric services, and life-saving maternal interventions, especially in fragile and underserved settings. The report highlights that underinvestment in maternal healthcare continues to disproportionately affect women facing poverty, humanitarian crises, malnutrition, and weak health systems.
Prof Ann Beatrice Kihara, Co-Lead of the End Postpartum Haemorrhage Initiative, says postpartum haemorrhage prevention must remain central in all women’s health investments and policies.
“Women’s health investment cannot be complete without prioritising postpartum haemorrhage prevention. Every woman deserves access to skilled care, safe blood, emergency response systems, and quality maternal healthcare before, during, and after childbirth. Strengthening these systems is essential if we are to reduce preventable maternal deaths and improve overall women’s health outcomes,” says Prof Kihara.
Health experts continue to emphasize that maternal health investments must extend beyond pregnancy alone to include nutrition, adolescent health, menstrual health, family planning, reproductive rights, health workforce strengthening, digital health innovation, and equitable access to emergency care.
As global advocacy efforts continue, stakeholders are increasingly calling for sustained financing, stronger partnerships, implementation science, and integrated maternal health strategies that place postpartum haemorrhage prevention at the centre of women’s health and health systems strengthening.
Sources
- World Health Organization. Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000 to 2020: Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA Population Division. Geneva: WHO; 2023.
- World Health Organization. Postpartum Haemorrhage Fact Sheet. Geneva: WHO; 2024.
- Hanson C, et al. Maternal mortality and access to emergency obstetric care in low-resource settings. The Lancet Global Health. 2023;11(8):e1142-e1150.
- Mvundura M, et al. Strengthening blood systems to reduce maternal mortality in low-income countries. BMJ Global Health. 2024;9:e012431.
- United Nations Population Fund. State of World Population Report 2024. New York: UNFPA; 2024.
- Campbell OMR, et al. Strategies for reducing maternal mortality: getting on with what works. The Lancet. 2024;403(10431):1121-1134.
- United Nations Children’s Fund. Maternal and Newborn Health Disparities Report. New York: UNICEF; 2024.
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