Postpartum haemorrhage, often referred to as PPH, means serious bleeding after birth. In the most severe cases, it can become a medical emergency within minutes. Women may need blood transfusions, emergency surgery, intensive care or, in rare cases, a hysterectomy.

Although maternal death from PPH is rare in the UK, severe bleeding after childbirth remains one of the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that PPH results in around 70,000 maternal deaths globally each year.

The Risk to Mothers

For most people outside maternity care, postpartum haemorrhage is poorly understood. Many women and families only hear about it when it happens to them. Most people are shocked to learn that incidents of PPH are increasing. NHS data shows recorded PPH incidence in England rising from 21% of deliveries in 2018/19 to 25% in 2022/23. That means thousands of women each year experience serious bleeding after birth.

Skilled maternity teams work to bring bleeding under control quickly, but when PPH escalates, the consequences can be frightening and life-changing. A woman affected by severe PPH may go from holding her baby to being surrounded by emergency staff, rushed to theatre, or separated from her baby while urgent treatment is carried out.

The immediate risks can include severe blood loss, blood transfusion, emergency surgery, intensive care, disseminated intravascular coagulation and, in extreme cases, death.

For women who survive severe PPH, the impact can continue long after the bleeding has stopped. PPH can leave women with anaemia, physical exhaustion, difficulties recovering from birth, anxiety, PTSD, trauma linked to future pregnancies, and lasting emotional distress.