Clinicodemographic Risk Factors and Maternal Outcomes Associated with Primary Postpartum Hemorrhage. A Prospective Observational Study
Risk Profile of Primary Postpartum Hemorrhage
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69750/dmls.03.01.0185Keywords:
Primary postpartum hemorrhage, uterine atony, mother outcome, anemia, multiparity, obstetric risk factorsAbstract
Background: Primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Early identification of clinicodemographic risk factors is essential for prevention and improved maternal outcomes.
Objective: To assess the clinicodemographic risk factors and maternal outcomes associated with primary postpartum hemorrhage in a tertiary care hospital.
Methods: This prospective observational study included 100 women who developed primary PPH within the first 24 hours after delivery. Primary PPH was defined according to World Health Organization criteria. A structured proforma was used to document sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric risk factors, causes of PPH, and maternal outcomes. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were applied to evaluate associations between risk factors and adverse maternal outcomes, with a p-value <0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean maternal age was 29.4 years. Major risk factors identified were multiparity (62%), anemia (61%), and rural residence (65%). Cesarean delivery accounted for 44% of cases. Uterine atony was the most common cause of PPH, responsible for 72% of cases. Maternal outcomes included the need for blood transfusion (68%), surgical intervention (19%), ICU admission (15%), and hysterectomy (4%). Maternal mortality was reported in 2% of cases. Anemia, multiparity, cesarean delivery, and prolonged labor showed significant associations with severe maternal outcomes (p ≤ 0.05).
Conclusion: Primary postpartum hemorrhage is strongly associated with modifiable clinicodemographic factors, particularly anemia, multiparity, and inadequate prenatal care. Early risk stratification, correction of maternal hemoglobin levels, and timely obstetric intervention are crucial to reducing severe morbidity and mortality. Strengthening antenatal care and ensuring optimal emergency obstetric preparedness remain key strategies for improving maternal health outcomes.
Downloads
References
Khedagi AM, Bello NA. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Cardiol Clin. 2021;39:77-90. doi:10.1016/j.ccl.2020.09.005.
Hurrell A, Beardmore-Gray A, Duhig K, Webster L, Chappell LC, Shennan AH. Placental growth factor in suspected preterm pre-eclampsia: evidence and implementation. BJOG. 2020;127:1590-7. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.16425.
Rana S, Burke SD, Karumanchi SA. Angiogenic factor imbalance in preeclampsia and related disorders. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;226:S1019-34. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2020.10.022.
Parchem JG, Brock CO, Chen HY, Kalluri R, Barton JR, Sibai BM. Placental growth factor and adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135:665-73. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000003694.
Duhig KE, Myers JE, Gale C, et al. Placental growth factor measurement in suspected preeclampsia: PARROT trial analysis. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2021;23:41-7. doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2020.10.005.
Gladstone RA, Ahmed S, Huszti E, et al. Midpregnancy placental growth factor screening and early preterm birth. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7:e2444454. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.44454.
McLaughlin K, Snelgrove JW, Audette MC, et al. Placental growth factor testing in clinical practice. Hypertension. 2021;77:2057-65. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.17047.
Leaños-Miranda A, Nolasco-Leaños AG, Carrillo-Juárez IR, et al. Usefulness of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in confirming or excluding preeclampsia. Hypertension. 2020;76:892-900. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15552.
Chen J, Zhao M, Zhou R, et al. Medical expense burden in older adults. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1165381. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1165381.
Fu X, Ren X, Chen Q. National medical reform and healthcare burden in Chinese provinces. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1444840. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1444840.
Tian T, Lu J, Zhao W, et al. Systemic inflammation markers and pulmonary nodules/lung cancer identification. Cancer Med. 2022;11:2482-91. doi:10.1002/cam4.4606.
Arredondo Montero J, Delgado-Miguel C, Pérez Riveros BP, et al. Systemic immune-inflammation index for diagnosing acute appendicitis: systematic review. J Surg Res. 2025;309:88-102. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2025.03.002.
Altuğ E, Kılavuz H, Çakir A, et al. Diagnostic value of SII in acute and complicated appendicitis during pregnancy. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2024;409(1):222. doi:10.1007/s00423-024-03420-x.
Cakcak İE, Türkyılmaz Z, Demirel T. Relationship between SIRI/SII values and appendicitis complications during COVID-19. Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg. 2022;28:751-5. doi:10.14744/tjtes.2021.94580.
Duyan M, Vural N. Diagnostic value of novel biomarkers in adult acute appendicitis. Cureus. 2022;14:e32307. doi:10.7759/cureus.32307.
Berhuni MS, Yönder H, Elkan H, et al. Systemic immune-inflammation index to identify complicated acute appendicitis. Cureus. 2024;16:e73046. doi:10.7759/cureus.73046.
Afridi MA, Khan I, Khalid MM, Ullah N. Combined inflammatory markers and ultrasound for diagnosing acute appendicitis. Ultrasound. 2023;31:266-72. doi:10.1177/1742271X231178112.
Saridas A, Vural N, Duyan M, et al. New inflammatory markers predicting complicated appendicitis. Open Med (Wars). 2024;19:20241002. doi:10.1515/med-2024-1002.
Zhang X, Xu Q, Yang L, et al. Prediction models for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy subtypes. Front Surg. 2022;9:1005974. doi:10.3389/fsurg.2022.1005974.
Ontario Health. PLGF-based biomarker testing for suspected preeclampsia: health technology assessment. Ont Health Technol Assess Ser. 2023;23:1-146.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you must obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.














