Almost one third of over 630 women who have died of obstetric causes in Poland over the past 20 years have lost their lives due to perinatal hemorrhage. Mastering this phenomenon requires good diagnostics and quick response – indicate gynecologists.
Urgent conditions in obstetrics and gynecology are the subject of the symposium of the Polish Gynecological Society, which started on Friday in Tychy, in which doctors from all over Poland participate. Most of the papers are about how to deal with emergencies when the life of mother and child is at risk.
Contrary to other European countries, haemorrhage is the main cause of death from obstetric causes in Poland, followed by infections, hypertension and embolism, and other causes. In Europe, the proportions are definitely different – hypertension and congestion dominate, and haemorrhages and infections are in further places.
The analysis of cases from recent years shows that perinatal hemorrhages are the most common cause of mortality in women giving birth and there is no downward trend. This leads to the conclusion that in order to reduce mortality, we should focus more on controlling this phenomenon – assessed the president of the Polish Gynecological Society, prof. Ryszard Poręba.
As he noted, the cause of almost half of the hemorrhages is the placenta. In these types of cases, it is the placenta that kills the women. The doctor’s reaction must be immediate – a patient with a hemorrhage should be immediately referred for ultrasound and operated on, said the professor.
In his opinion, the diagnosis of the condition of the placenta is crucial so that hemorrhages are no longer the most common cause of perinatal deaths, and the mortality of giving birth to women is significantly reduced. The maternal death around birth is a family drama, but also a drama of the doctor and the entire ward – said the president of the Society.
According to prof. Poręba, in many cases it is necessary to improve the organization of labor wards, so that in difficult cases an immediate reaction is possible – the doctor should be with the patient immediately, an ultrasound scanner and appropriate medications must be available immediately.
As the head of the psychosomatic section of the Society said, Assoc. Izabela Ulman-Włodarz, the symposium in Tychy is primarily aimed at finding ways to support gynecologists and obstetricians in difficult everyday practice situations that require quick decisions. The speed and effectiveness of action then decide about the life of the mother or child – said the associate professor (PAP).