A promising device to save maternal lives associated with obstetric hemorrhage: the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG)

Preventable maternal mortality associated with obstetric hemorrhage is a human tragedy that mainly occurs in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Massive blood loss leads to hypovolemic shock, which decreases blood flow and therefore oxygen to tissues in the heart, lungs, and brain. Women can rapidly develop disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, tissue anoxia, single or multiple organ failure, and death. Management and treatment of hypovolemic shock due to massive obstetric hemorrhage requires care at the tertiary or referral level, treatment varies dependent on hemorrhage etiology, but generally reversing shock requires not only uterotonics and IV fluids (sometimes available at primary health centers), but also blood transfusions and hemostatic surgeries, only available at Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) facilities. The Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) is a first aid device that can buy time for women experiencing hypovolemic shock secondary to obstetric hemorrhage from any etiology. As such it buys time to overcome two of the three delays that contribute to maternal mortality in lower resourced settings [1]. The second delay is a delay in arranging transport and during transport from either home or lower level health care facilities to referral facilities, and the third delay is the delayed receipt of quality, comprehensive emergency obstetrical care at the tertiary facility. The NASG can mitigate both these delays [2]. In the article published within Reproductive Health, the authors, all international, maternal health researchers, are publishing the results of a systematic review of six studies