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An 80-Cent Plastic Pouch Is Saving Thousands of Women From Dying in Childbirth
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- Husaina Balarabe, a 26-year-old optometrist in Kano, Nigeria, survived a life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage thanks to a simple, low-cost medical device used during childbirth.
- The device, known as a maternal drape, is a thin green plastic sheet with a pouch that collects and measures blood loss, allowing midwives to detect dangerous bleeding early.
- This low-tech intervention, pioneered in some of Africa’s poorest maternity wards, is now being adopted across the continent to reduce maternal mortality from postpartum hemorrhage.
- The maternal drape helped Ms. Balarabe’s midwife identify excessive bleeding quickly, enabling timely medical response that saved her life.
