When a woman’s uterus fails to contract after childbirth, tremendous blood loss can ensue, possibly leading to an emergency hysterectomy or even death. In fact, postpartum hemorrhage affects 3% to 10% of all childbirths in the United States and causes more than one-third of childbirth-related maternal deaths worldwide.
Treatment options include medications that don’t always work and inserting a balloon to put pressure on the uterus — much like exerting pressure on a cut — that comes with risks and must remain in place for a day.
But providers now have another option.
A new vacuum device aids natural post-birth contractions, putting pressure on leaking blood vessels. The FDA approved the device — the Jada vacuum uterine tamponade — in September 2020 following a 12-site research study.
“The vacuum approach is very logical since it’s like what the body is supposed to do,” says Dena Goffman, MD, the primary investigator at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Manhattan. Also, the vacuum is used for less time than the balloon — roughly two or three hours. “For moms, that’s a big deal because it makes it easier to breastfeed, get out of bed, and bond with their child,” she adds.
The vacuum controlled bleeding in a median of three minutes and successfully treated 94% of participants, according to the study, which was funded by the device’s manufacturer, Alydia Health. In comparison, other research puts the balloon’s effectiveness at 87%.
“When a patient has a postpartum hemorrhage and you’re the doctor at the bedside, it’s scary because you know how quickly things can deteriorate,” says Goffman. “Using this device, when you see the bleeding slowing quickly and you can feel the uterus contracting, it’s just incredible.”
