Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Severe maternal morbidity has received increasing emphasis in the recent international literature for several reasons including the life threatening nature of such conditions and the potential for subsequent disability. Atonic postpartum hemorrhage (bleeding after birth) is one such morbidity. Approximately 14,500 Canadian women experience atonic postpartum hemorrhage each year. In Canada, even though an increase in severe postpartum hemorrhage was identified in Canada in 2003, no in-depth investigation has been carried out to identify the causes to date. Rates of postpartum hemorrhage in Canada have increased by 34% between 1991 and 2004 (from 29.4 to 39.5 per 1,000 deliveries, respectively). In this application I propose to address this problem through the Canadian Perinatal Network infrastructure using a case-control study. Knowledge gained from this study will be used to facilitate reductions in the frequency of postpartum hemorrhage, prevention of complications and improvements in maternal health.