BARCELONA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cook Medical has invited experts in women's health and postpartum hemorrhage from North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa to participate in a roundtable discussion with the world press to explore the causes, risk factors and prevalence of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) a fatal complication of childbirth that affects approximately 14 million women annually. Panelists will also explore the current options for treating PPH such as use of Cook’s Bakri postpartum hemorrhage balloon.¹ The roundtable is scheduled for September 22 in Barcelona, Spain to coincide with the first Global Congress of Maternal and Infant Health at the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona, September 22-26.

Defined as the death of a woman during her pregnancy or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, maternal mortality usually occurs just before, during, or just after delivery², often from complications that cannot be predicted and are difficult to prevent. According to the World Health Organization, about 14 million cases of obstetric hemorrhage occur each year and approximately 140,000 women die.³ Postpartum hemorrhage can kill even a healthy woman in just two hours.⁴ Even in the U.S., where obstetric care is among the best in the world, it causes almost 20 percent of pregnancy-related deaths.⁵

”Postpartum hemorrhage poses one of the greatest single global threats to the health and well-being of women during childbirth. Much has been written in the world press about the scope of the problem. But Cook’s goal with this roundtable is to zero in on the medical causes, identify patients and risk and discuss the forms of treatment available. It's tragic that effective treatment alternatives that can minimize threats to a women’s future ability to have children and to prevent hysterectomy exist but are all too often unavailable or underutilized," said Christina Anné, vice president of Cook Medical’s Women’s Health business unit. “Through this roundtable Cook hopes to educate policymakers, public health officials, health care providers and the public at large about how to identify patients at risk for postpartum hemorrhage and explore its causes and the various options for treatment. We also hope to discuss ways to improve the training healthcare professionals receive for treating PPH. We are excited to host the roundtable in conjunction with the first Global Congress of Maternal and Infant Health as Cook shares the goal of the Congress for improving the state of maternal care around the world.”

Panelists will highlight the causes of postpartum hemorrhage, including uterine atony; lacerations of the perineum, vagina, cervix or uterus; retention of placental tissue; uterine rupture; blood clotting abnormalities; hypertensive disorders; rapid or prolonged labor; placenta previa; and a prior history of PPH. They will also detail each of the current available treatment methods such as injections of oxytocin or administration of other uterotonic drugs, use of a balloon tamponade that applies direct pressure to stop hemorrhage, blood transfusions, laparotomy, embolization and even hysterectomy, the last resort in the treatment of PPH.

More Details on the Panel

For live updates from the Global Congress of Maternal and Infant Health, follow Cook Women’s Health on Twitter @CookWomensHlth #PPH

Panelists are compensated for their participation in this event by Cook Medical.

About Cook Medical

Founded in 1963, Cook Medical pioneered many of the medical devices now commonly used to perform minimally invasive medical procedures throughout the body. Today, the company integrates medical devices, drugs and biologic grafts to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. Since its inception, Cook has operated as a family-held private corporation. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter @cookmedicalpr and @CookWomensHlth.

About The Global Congress of Maternal and Infant Health

The first annual Global Congress of Maternal and Infant health is a landmark meeting drawing together representatives from perinatal medicine, academics, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations. The meeting marks the launch of an effort to change the circumstances resulting from social customs, political instability, and economic inequality that endanger the well-being of mothers and children. Congress info: http://www.globalcongress2010.com/

^{1 World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Reproductive Health and Research. Maternal Mortality in 2000: Estimates Developed by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA. Geneva: WHO; 2004. www.childinfo.org/files/maternal_mortality_in_2000.pdf
2 Women Deliver website, facts and figures page: : http://www.womendeliver.org/knowledge-center/facts-figures/maternal-health/
3 ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 76, 2006. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/mch/ReproductiveHealth/PreconceptionHealth/PCHFiles/Hemorrhage%20Postpartum%20Hemorrhage%20ACOG.pdf
4 “Preventing Postpartum Hemorrhage: Active Management of the Third Stage of Labor – A Maternal and Neonatal Health Program Best Practice.” November 2001. http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/english/6read/6issues/6jtn/v4/tn110hemor.htm
5 Berg, C.J., et al. “Pregnancy-related mortality in the United states, 1991-1997. Obstet Gynecol 2003; 101:289-296. http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2003/02000/Pregnancy_Related_Mortality_in_the_United_State.15.aspx}

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