Uterotonic use at home births in low-income countries: A literature review

Objectives: This literature review compiles data on rates of use, indications, type of provider, mode of administration, and dose of uterotonics used for home births in low-income countries, and identified gaps meeting further research Methods Published and unpublished English language article from 1995 through 2008 pertaining to home use of uterotonics were identified via electronic searches of medical and social science databases. In additino, biobliographies of articles wre examined for eligible studies, Data were abstracted and analyzed by the objectives outlined for this review Results Twenty-three articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria Use rates of uterotonics at home births ranged widely from 1% to 69% with the large majority of observations from South Asia Descriptive studies suggest that home use of utertonics before delivery of the baby are predominantly administrated by nonprofessional to accelerate labor, and are not perceived as unsafe Conclusion To achieve maximum benefit and minimal harm, programs that increase access to uterotonics for postpartum hemorrhage prevention must take into account existing practices among pregnant women Further research regarding access to uterotonics and intervention studies for provider behavior change regarding uterotonic use is warrianted (C) 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetries Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.