Actions can be taken during the antenatal period that will improve the pregnant
woman’s hemoglobin level and thus increase her ability to tolerate blood loss in
childbirth. It is important to ensure that each woman give birth with a skilled birth
attendant who is trained and skilled in preventing PPH, and has access to uterotonic
drugs.
The following table reviews actions that can be taken at the community level during
the third stage of labor and the immediate postpartum period to prevent PPH. The
interventions are listed according to when they are used in pregnancy and delivery
(e.g. preconception, before delivery of the placenta, etc.) and not by order of
importance.