Postpartum

High blood pressure that a woman already has when she becomes pregnant, or that is found in the first 20 weeks. It is a form of high blood pressure, but decisions in pregnancy differ: some blood...

Condition 0 claims Evidence checked not recorded

High blood pressure that is present before pregnancy or starts during it. NICE groups these disorders in three ways: high blood pressure that was there before pregnancy or appeared in the first 20...

Condition 1 claim Evidence checked not recorded

Heavy bleeding after a baby is born. It is one of the most common complications of childbirth. It is also a leading cause of death for mothers worldwide, and most of those deaths happen in low- and...

Condition 2 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A condition of pregnancy in which blood pressure rises after 20 weeks and, at the same time, there are signs that other parts of the body are affected. These can include protein in the urine, or...

Condition 0 claims Evidence checked not recorded

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...

Intervention 2 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A package for hospitals. Staff measure blood loss at vaginal births with a calibrated drape, and when heavy bleeding is detected they start a standard set of treatments straight away. The set covers...

Intervention 2 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A medicine given into a vein, on top of usual care, to women who are bleeding heavily after birth. It works by slowing the breakdown of blood clots. In the WOMAN trial it lowered deaths from bleeding...

Intervention 6 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A drape used at vaginal birth that collects the blood and carries volume markings, so the amount lost can be measured instead of guessed by eye.

Technology 0 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

Whether the mother died and the cause recorded was bleeding. In WOMAN this was the main cause-specific death outcome.

Outcome 0 claims Evidence checked 2026-10-11

The NICE guideline on diagnosing and managing high blood pressure in pregnancy, first published in June 2019 and last updated in April 2023.

Publication Evidence checked not recorded

The main report of the WOMAN trial of tranexamic acid for bleeding after birth, published in The Lancet in 2017.

Publication Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A large trial that tested whether tranexamic acid, added to usual care, helps women who are bleeding heavily after giving birth. About 20 000 women in 193 hospitals in 21 countries took part. Neither...

Study Evidence checked 2026-10-11

A suggested order for reading this atlas, from before pregnancy through birth to a baby’s first months. Each step points to one page and says in plain words what that page covers. It is a reading...

Reading path Evidence checked not recorded

Heavy bleeding after birth is often missed or noticed late when blood loss is judged by eye, which is frequently inaccurate. The response WHO now recommends is to measure blood loss objectively and...

Bottleneck 1 claim Evidence checked 2026-10-11