Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Radswiki T, Knipe H, Yap J, et al. Postpartum haemorrhage. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 27 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-15511
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (past)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to
not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) refers to uterine bleeding after delivery and remains one of the major worldwide causes of maternal mortality.
Epidemiology
Risk factors
A helpful mnemonic to remember the risk factors of postpartum haemorrhage is PARTUM.
Pathology
Aetiology
Postpartum haemorrhage can be broadly classified as primary or secondary.
Primary postpartum haemorrhage
This is the most common form of major obstetric haemorrhage. Primary postpartum haemorrhage is traditionally defined as the loss of ≥500 mL of blood from the birth canal within 24 hours of birth ref. It can be classed as ref:
minor: 500-1000 mL
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major (>1000 mL)
moderate: 1000-2000 mL
severe: >2000 mL
Secondary postpartum haemorrhage
Secondary postpartum haemorrhage is defined as abnormal or excessive per vaginal bleeding between 24 hours and 12 weeks postnatally. Causes include ref:
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1. Pelage J, Soyer P, Repiquet D et al. Secondary Postpartum Hemorrhage: Treatment with Selective Arterial Embolization. Radiology. 1999;212(2):385-9. doi:10.1148/radiology.212.2.r99jl05385 - Pubmed
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2. Agarwal N, Deinde O, Willmott F et al. A Case Series of Interventional Radiology in Postpartum Haemorrhage. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2011;31(6):499-502. doi:10.3109/01443615.2011.566388 - Pubmed
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3. World Health Organization. WHO Guidelines for the Management of Postpartum Haemorrhage and Retained Placenta. (2009) ISBN: 9789241598514 - Google Books
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4. Lee N, Kim S, Lee J et al. Postpartum Hemorrhage: Clinical and Radiologic Aspects. Eur J Radiol. 2010;74(1):50-9. doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.04.062 - Pubmed
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5. Iraha Y, Okada M, Toguchi M et al. Multimodality Imaging in Secondary Postpartum or Postabortion Hemorrhage: Retained Products of Conception and Related Conditions. Jpn J Radiol. 2018;36(1):12-22. doi:10.1007/s11604-017-0687-y - Pubmed
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6. Kamaya A, Ro K, Benedetti N, Chang P, Desser T. Imaging and Diagnosis of Postpartum Complications: Sonography and Other Imaging Modalities. Ultrasound Q. 2009;25(3):151-62. doi:10.1097/RUQ.0b013e3181b5451e - Pubmed
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