{
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  "id": "maternal:objective-blood-loss-measurement",
  "owner": "maternal",
  "kind": "intervention",
  "slug": "objective-blood-loss-measurement",
  "name": "Objective measurement of postpartum blood loss",
  "aliases": [
    "Objective blood-loss measurement"
  ],
  "atlases": [
    "maternal"
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  "summary_plain": "Measuring the blood a woman loses after birth with a tool, instead of judging it by eye. WHO recommends doing this for every woman giving birth, and uses measured amounts in its criteria for deciding when to start treatment.",
  "summary_technical": "WHO 2025 Recommendation 21 (Revalidated, Recommended) recommends routine objective measurement for all women giving birth; calibrated drapes at vaginal birth are named as one method. Recommendation 22 (New, Recommended) gives the diagnostic criteria built on measured loss: 300 mL or more with any abnormal haemodynamic sign, or 500 mL or more, whichever occurs first within 24 hours after birth. WHO says measurement is effective only when linked to a standardized treatment protocol.",
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  "last_substantive_edit": "2026-10-11",
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    "subtype": "test",
    "mechanism": "Quantifies blood loss objectively, for example with a calibrated drape after vaginal birth, so bleeding is detected sooner than with visual estimation.",
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      "statement": "WHO 2025 recommends routine objective measurement of blood loss after birth for all women giving birth, to improve the detection and prompt treatment of postpartum haemorrhage (Recommendation 21, category Recommended, Revalidated from the 2023 recommendation). WHO names calibrated drapes for women having vaginal birth as one method. The recommendation is for measuring blood loss, not for a particular product. WHO adds that measurement works only when it is linked with a standardized treatment approach.",
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        "care_setting": "Not stated in the source",
        "geography": "Global (WHO guidance intended to inform national and subnational policy).",
        "life_stage": "Childbirth and the first 24 hours after birth",
        "gestational_age_min_days": null,
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      "limitations": "Most of the available evidence is from vaginal birth; WHO says measurement at caesarean birth is also clinically important. WHO says current evidence does not support the diagnostic accuracy of alternatives such as blood collection trays and jars. The evidence tables (Web Annex A, Section 4.1) were not read. The wording is identical to Recommendation 1 of the 2023 document, which WHO integrated unchanged. WHO 2025 labels each recommendation with one of four categories and a development status. These are not GRADE strength labels, so the claim certainty is left not assessed.",
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      "statement": "WHO 2025 recommends these criteria to identify women at risk of adverse outcomes from bleeding after birth and to start first-response treatment (Recommendation 22, new, category Recommended). Objectively measured blood loss of 300 mL or more together with any abnormal sign (pulse above 100 beats a minute, shock index above 1, systolic blood pressure below 100 mmHg, or diastolic blood pressure below 60 mmHg), or objectively measured blood loss of 500 mL or more, whichever occurs first within 24 hours after birth, with particular vigilance during the first 2 hours. WHO calls this a \"therapeutic definition\", a threshold meant to guide when to start treatment rather than to classify the condition.",
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        "population": "All women giving birth. Recommendation 21 covers routine objective measurement. Recommendation 22 applies its criteria within 24 hours after birth, with particular vigilance in the first 2 hours. WHO says the available studies were in women giving birth vaginally and that the criteria have some limitations for caesarean section.",
        "care_setting": "Not stated in the source",
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        "life_stage": "Childbirth and the first 24 hours after birth",
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