New WHO recommendations on prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage.

Improving health care for women during childbirth in order to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is an essential step toward achieving Millennium Development Goal 5. In March 2012, WHO held a Technical Consultation on the Prevention and Treatment of Postpartum Haemorrhage to review current evidence and to update previously published PPH guidelines. The present paper provides an overview of the most recent WHO guidelines for both prevention and treatment of PPH, with an emphasis on the key messages and changes.