Time of Postpartum Hemoglobin Assessment and Blood Loss During Delivery

Optimal Time for Postpartum Hemoglobin Assessment and Its Correlation With Estimated Blood Loss (EBL)/Quantitative Blood Loss (QBL)

This is a prospective cohort study of patients delivering at Columbia University Medical Center/ Allen Hospital. For the primary research question, the investigators will compare the change in maternal hemoglobin from postpartum day 1 to day 2 and also determine correlation with estimation of blood loss (EBL) and quantitative blood loss (QBL).

Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Early intervention is dependent on care providers ability to accurately estimate ongoing blood loss. Studies in the past have shown that obstetricians and midwives tend to overestimate blood loss when the lost volumes are small while tend to underestimate by as much as 40 to 50 percent when a large volume of blood is lost.

Multiple studies have shown that routine hemoglobin assessment in postpartum patients after uneventful delivery either vaginal or via cesarean section, is not necessary. This leads to increased cost of care without any added benefit and causes inconvenience to the patients. However knowing how imprecise blood loss estimation can be it is reasonable to screen women for anemia prior to discharge.

Inclusion Criteria:

All antepartum patients receiving prenatal care at the Broadway Practice and plan to deliver at Allen Hospital in NYC.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who gave consent to participate in the study but did not deliver at Allen hospital.