Postpartum hemorrhage champions: Sustaining gains beyond the E-MOTIVE Trial

Abstract

Background: Results published from the E-MOTIVE trial concluded that for women undergoing vaginal delivery, early detection of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), combined with bundled treatment of PPH, reduced severe PPH and associated adverse outcomes. Eighty hospitals across Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa and over 210,000 women participated in the randomized trial, which was designed to assess the effect of implementing the E-MOTIVE intervention to detect and treat PPH. The results showed that the use of calibrated collection drapes dramatically increased the PPH detection rate, from 51% to 93%, and the use of the WHO-recommended bundle of treatments, from 19% to 91%. Moreover, implementing the E-MOTIVE approach to treat PPH resulted in a 60% reduction in severe PPH. The median blood loss, the need for postpartum blood transfusion, and the number of maternal deaths were also reduced. The E-MOTIVE trial trained a pool of PPH champions across the intervention facilities, including nurses, midwives, medical officers, and obstetrics and gynecology specialists. Their roles were to coordinate the training and practice activities of all relevant labor ward staff in their hospitals, observe labor ward staff practices, and provide specific feedback for targeted improvements in implementing the E-MOTIVE bundle correctly by reviewing regular performance indicators and outcome data from their hospitals to assess if improvements were needed.

Methods: After the study findings, the Kenyan hub team continued tracking the performance of the facilities after the trial, without any active support. The PPH champions collected, discussed at the facility level, and shared data with the Kenyan hub team monthly. The data shared were included in the hub Project Management Information System and triangulated with data from DHIS, where it was analyzed by the Kenyan study team, and feedback was shared at the facility level.

Results: Data analyzed from the last quarter (September-November) showed that seven E-MOTIVE implementing facilities maintained 5% PPH rates (blood loss >500 mls) and 2% severe PPH rates on moving averages. All components of the E-MOTIVE bundle were provided 100% to all PPH cases detected. During the same period, three maternal deaths were reported that had causes other than bleeding from PPH.

Conclusion: Having PPH champions community of practice can help sustain best practices in the early detection and treatment of PPH beyond any project lifeline. It is a simple and cost-effective method that can prevent severe PPH and prevent maternal mortality arising from PPH.