Postpartum Hemorrhage Statistics

WHO recommends prophylactic oxytocin for all births—reducing postpartum hemorrhage risk, with severe PPH affecting about 1–2% of births.
Magnus ÖbergAdrien Chevalier

Written by Magnus Öberg

Fact-checked by Adrien Chevalier

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Postpartum hemorrhage is defined by blood loss thresholds after vaginal birth and cesarean, and it appears in both low- and high-resource settings. Risk rises with factors such as prolonged labor and induction, while recognition improves when hospitals use quantitative blood loss measurement. This page connects global and country-level burden data with the evidence for prevention and treatment—active management of the third stage, uterotonics, and tranexamic acid where appropriate.

Key Takeaways

  1. 1A 2022 scoping review reported that implementation of obstetric hemorrhage protocols and simulation training is associated with improved time-to-intervention for hemorrhage management.
  2. 2WHO recommends prophylactic oxytocin for all births, because it reduces the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
  3. 3WHO recommends uterotonics for treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, including tranexamic acid as part of management where appropriate.
  4. 4In a 2021 systematic review, prolonged labor and induction were associated with increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage compared with spontaneous labor (reported as odds ratios/relative risks).
  5. 5Maternal PPH is associated with a markedly increased risk of maternal mortality; in a large cohort analysis, severe maternal morbidity/mortality was significantly higher with PPH than without PPH (adjusted analysis).
  6. 6In a randomized trial, active management of the third stage of labor reduced the risk of postpartum hemorrhage compared with expectant management (relative risk reduction).
  7. 7A 2017–2020 systematic review estimated severe PPH (≥1,000 mL after vaginal birth or ≥1,500 mL after cesarean, depending on definitions) occurs in about 1–2% of births.
  8. 8A 2019 U.S. study using hospital records reported that postpartum hemorrhage was coded in 4.6% of deliveries in the dataset period.
  9. 9In England, postpartum hemorrhage accounted for 2.4% of all maternity admissions in 2017/18.
  10. 10In a 2020 observational study, hospitals that adopted quantitative blood loss measurement had higher detection of postpartum hemorrhage compared with hospitals using visual estimation.
  11. 11In the United States, postpartum hemorrhage–related hospitalizations increased from 2.7% of deliveries in 1998 to 4.1% in 2010.
  12. 12WHO estimates there were 46,900 deaths due to postpartum hemorrhage worldwide in 2019.
  13. 13A 2016 Lancet review estimated that maternal hemorrhage accounts for about 30% of maternal deaths worldwide.
  14. 14Approximately 70% of maternal deaths occur after complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period.
  15. 15In a 2018 cost study, additional direct costs for postpartum hemorrhage were estimated at about $2,000 per affected delivery.

Proactive protocols, oxytocin, and tranexamic acid with rapid response can prevent deaths from postpartum hemorrhage.

Related reading

01Guideline And Practice

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  1. 1A 2022 scoping review reported that implementation of obstetric hemorrhage protocols and simulation training is associated with improved time-to-intervention for hemorrhage management.
  2. 2WHO recommends prophylactic oxytocin for all births, because it reduces the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
  3. 3WHO recommends uterotonics for treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, including tranexamic acid as part of management where appropriate.
  4. 4In the Netherlands, adoption of active management of third stage of labor was associated with lower rates of postpartum hemorrhage in a national guideline evaluation.

More related reading

02Risk And Outcomes

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  1. 1In a 2021 systematic review, prolonged labor and induction were associated with increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage compared with spontaneous labor (reported as odds ratios/relative risks).
  2. 2Maternal PPH is associated with a markedly increased risk of maternal mortality; in a large cohort analysis, severe maternal morbidity/mortality was significantly higher with PPH than without PPH (adjusted analysis).
  3. 3In a randomized trial, active management of the third stage of labor reduced the risk of postpartum hemorrhage compared with expectant management (relative risk reduction).
  4. 4In the WOMAN trial, tranexamic acid reduced death due to bleeding among women with postpartum hemorrhage.
  5. 5Severe maternal morbidity was increased with PPH; one observational study reported that PPH was associated with a 6-fold increase in blood transfusion rates.
  6. 6In a systematic review of blood management, postpartum hemorrhage accounts for a substantial proportion of red blood cell transfusions in obstetric care.
  7. 7In a large U.S. analysis, risk of postpartum hemorrhage increased with multiple gestation; odds were higher for twin births versus singleton births.
  8. 8In the U.S., postpartum hemorrhage is one of the most common causes of obstetric ICU admission; one study reported that 21% of obstetric ICU admissions involved postpartum hemorrhage.

More related reading

03Clinical Epidemiology

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  1. 1A 2017–2020 systematic review estimated severe PPH (≥1,000 mL after vaginal birth or ≥1,500 mL after cesarean, depending on definitions) occurs in about 1–2% of births.
  2. 2A 2019 U.S. study using hospital records reported that postpartum hemorrhage was coded in 4.6% of deliveries in the dataset period.
  3. 3In England, postpartum hemorrhage accounted for 2.4% of all maternity admissions in 2017/18.
  4. 42–4% of births are complicated by postpartum hemorrhage (PPH, defined as blood loss ≥500 mL after vaginal birth or ≥1000 mL after cesarean).
  5. 5In the WHO Multicountry Survey, uterine atony was identified as the cause in 28.3% of women with maternal near-miss conditions involving postpartum hemorrhage.
  6. 6An international systematic review reported that postpartum hemorrhage accounts for about 1 in 5 of maternal near-miss events.
  7. 7In the United States (Nationwide Inpatient Sample), postpartum hemorrhage occurred in 2.9% of deliveries.
  8. 8A UK study found that postpartum hemorrhage occurred in 8.0% of births when blood loss was measured using an objective method (vs. lower estimates when using visual estimation).
  9. 9In the WOMAN trial, 80% of women received tranexamic acid within 3 hours of postpartum hemorrhage onset (treatment timing).
  10. 10Maternal near-miss review in high-income settings found postpartum hemorrhage among leading causes of maternal near-miss events.

More related reading

05Maternal Mortality Burden

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  1. 1WHO estimates there were 46,900 deaths due to postpartum hemorrhage worldwide in 2019.
  2. 2A 2016 Lancet review estimated that maternal hemorrhage accounts for about 30% of maternal deaths worldwide.
  3. 3Approximately 70% of maternal deaths occur after complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period.

More related reading

06Cost Analysis

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  1. 1In a 2018 cost study, additional direct costs for postpartum hemorrhage were estimated at about $2,000per affected delivery.
  2. 2In a 2014–2015 analysis, postpartum hemorrhage was associated with a median increase in length of hospital stay of 2 days compared with no PPH.
  3. 3In the United States, postpartum hemorrhage is estimated to cost hospitals and payers hundreds of millions of USD annually when including treatment, transfusion, and complication management.

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APA
Magnus Öberg. (2026, September 20). Postpartum Hemorrhage Statistics. Statpit. https://statpit.com/postpartum-hemorrhage-statistics
MLA
Magnus Öberg. "Postpartum Hemorrhage Statistics." Statpit, 20 Sep 2026, https://statpit.com/postpartum-hemorrhage-statistics.
Chicago
Magnus Öberg. 2026. "Postpartum Hemorrhage Statistics." Statpit. https://statpit.com/postpartum-hemorrhage-statistics.

Sources and references

30 datasets cited across this report. Attribution is report-level.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govacog.orgvizhub.healthdata.orgdigital.nhs.ukthelancet.comjamanetwork.comwho.intbmj.comncbi.nlm.nih.gov

20 additional datasets are cited and not shown individually.