Immediate Postpartum Hemorrhage at a Type 2 Health Center in Dakar, Senegal (January 2011 – December 2024): Epidemiological and Etiological Aspects

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the management of immediate postpartum hemorrhage at the Nabil Choucair Health Center by describing its epidemiological and etiological aspects. Methodology: This is a retrospective, single-center, analytical, and descriptive study covering a 14-year period, from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2024. It focuses on 446 women treated for immediate postpartum hemorrhage at the Nabil Choucair Health Center. Data were collected from patient hospitalization records using Google Forms and analyzed using RStudio version 2025.05. Results: The incidence of immediate postpartum hemorrhage was 0.71%. The typical epidemiological profile was that of a pauciparous woman (41.1%), aged 27, who presented spontaneously in 74.4% of cases, with the majority having attended at least four prenatal care visits. Just over a third of the patients (35.4%) had experienced an obstetric or medical complication during pregnancy. During labor, 31.1% of patients presented with at least one abnormality. Deliveries were most frequently vaginal (82.8%), following a full-term pregnancy (89.6%), and resulted in a live, healthy newborn (83.4%). The main causes of immediate postpartum hemorrhage identified were traumatic injuries (67.5%), uterine atony (38.5%), and retained placenta (28.6%). Conclusion: Immediate postpartum hemorrhage remains a frequent and potentially life-threatening obstetric emergency. In our study, it was primarily caused by traumatic injuries, uterine atony, and retained placenta.