Everyone Healthy Library
Postpartum Hemorrhage
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
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Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Genderis F
Linked signs and symptoms
3Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
Linked drugs / medications
1Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
15Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Surgery
4Medical therapy
6- Arterial EmbolisationWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Bimanual Uterine Massage and CompressionWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Exploratory LaparotomyWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- HysterectomyWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Surgical RepairWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Tamponade BalloonWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
Alternative and complementary therapies
1Alternative medicine
1Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
14These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
- Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT)
- Aldosterone Concentration Test
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Protein Concentration
- Cerebrospinal Fluid White Cell Differential
- haptoglobin (Hp) concentration
- Heamatocrit (Hct)
- Hemoglobin (Hb) Concentration
- Lactic Acid Concentration
- Platelet Count
- Red Blood Cell (RBC) Count
- Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) Test
- Renin Assay
- Reticulocyte Absolute Count
- Urine Volume
Biological markers/agents
15This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
9- AldosteroneReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 0.13–0.86 nmol/L; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 0.16–0.66 nmol/LLinked diagnostic testsAldosterone Concentration Test
- Cerebrospinal Fluid LeukocytesReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 0–5 /µL; 1y - 6y: 0–20 /µLLinked diagnostic testsCerebrospinal Fluid White Cell Differential
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Monocyte DifferentialReference range exampleAll: 15–47 %Linked diagnostic testsCerebrospinal Fluid White Cell Differential
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Total ProteinReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 15–45 mg/dL; Child (< 10y): 15–70 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsCerebrospinal Fluid Protein Concentration
- Lactic Acid (Venous Blood)Reference range exampleAll: 0.5–2.2 mEq/LLinked diagnostic testsLactic Acid Concentration
- PlateletsReference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 150–450 109/L; Adult ( > 16y): 135–380 109/LLinked diagnostic testsPlatelet Count
- Red Blood Distribution Width (RDW)Reference range exampleAll: 11–14.5 %Linked diagnostic testsRed Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) Test
- ReninReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 0.65–3.3 ng/mL; 16y - 18y: 0–4.4 ng/mLLinked diagnostic testsRenin Assay
- ReticulocytesReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 24–83 109/L; 0.5–1.5 %Linked diagnostic testsReticulocyte Absolute Count, Reticulocyte Count Percent Total RBC
Often decreased
6- haptoglobin (Hp)Reference range example45–200 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testshaptoglobin (Hp) concentration
- Hemoglobin (Hb)Reference range exampleFemale: 78–100 gm/dL; Male: 76–100 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsHemoglobin (Hb) Concentration, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) Weight Test
- Plasma thromboplastin antecedentReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 20–35 secondsLinked diagnostic testsActivated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT)
- RBC MassReference range exampleFemale: 36–48 %; Male: 42–52 %Linked diagnostic testsHeamatocrit (Hct)
- Red Blood Cells (RBC)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 3.6–5 106/mm3; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 4.2–5.4 106/mm3Linked diagnostic testsRed Blood Cell (RBC) Count
- UrineReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 4.5–7.5; Child (0 - 16y): 500–1,400 mLLinked diagnostic testsUrine Colour, Urine Creatinine Concentration
Introduction / full article
Postpartum Hemorrhage
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: Weakly against (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that Goldenseal helps to treat postpartum hemorrhage. More studies are needed. Goldenseal may produce toxic effects, including depression, constipation, rapid heartbeat, stomach pain, mouth ulcers and vomiting.)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009
2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/goldenseal
3. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/
4. Tierra Michael (1998): The Way of Herbs. New York, Pocket Books
5. Grieve M. (1971): A Modern Herbal. New York, Dover Publications, Inc
6. Mills S. and Bone K. (2000): Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. Philadelphia, Churchill Livingstone
7. Tice Raymond (1997): Goldenseal and Two of its constituent alkaloids: berberine and hydrastine Research Triangle Park, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in Seiger E: Review of Toxilogical Literature
8. http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/ellingwood/hydrastis.html