Understanding Importance of “Golden hour” in Obstetric Emergencies -Common Observations and Suggestions

Abstract

Obstetric emergencies occur suddenly and at times unexpectedly, posing risk of serious maternal morbidity or mortality. The common life-threatening obstetric emergencies include accidental haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage, eclampsia, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, retained placenta and inversion of uterus. These emergency conditions are responsible for large percentages of cases, who in turn develop serious maternal morbidity or mortality. The outcome of these conditions depends primarily on certain factors. Place of delivery or occurrence of emergency. Time lapse between occurrence of the emergency and admission to tertiary care hospital, readiness of the referral hospital to manage emergencies, time spent in decision making, stabilizing or preparing patients for surgical interventions, availability of required quantity of blood and its components and availability of competent expert team at the health facility.