Postpartum hemorrhage is an unpredictable life threatening event that affects many women and is still the leading cause of maternal death in delivery. caused by failure of the uterus to contract during the third stage of labor, it results in bleeding from the large maternal vessels in the placenta bed. Although there are many approaches to clinical control, none as yet are totally reliable or without side effects. A device that could reliably contract the uterine myometrium would have a profound effect on mortality and morbidity associated with the tragedy of postpartum hemorrhage. This proposal describes a new regime to produce uterine contraction that has potential advantage over current treatment including reliability, safety, and ease of use. In this preliminary study, we will study the effects and safety of this regime in producing contraction in human uterine tissue from emergency post partum hemorrhage hysterectomies.
