Postpartum hemorrhage: Nursing interventions and management to prevent hypovolemic shock

Introduction: In Colombia, postpartum hemorrhage is the second leading cause of death in pregnant women at a rate of 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. After childbirth, 8.2% of Latin American women are expected to have postpartum hemorrhage. Objective: To describe nursing care delivered to women with postpartum hemorrhage to reduce the risk of hypovolemic shock by means of an integrative literature review. Materials and Methods: Following the approach suggested by Sasso, de Campos and Galvao, an integrative literature review was conducted on ClinicalKey, LILACS, CINAHL, Epistemonikos, Cochrane Library, PubMed and ScieELO Google Scholar databases. Articles published in the last five years in Spanish, English and Portuguese were selected and classified by their level of evidence and degree of recommendation. This is a low-risk research due to its documentary nature. Results: 41 articles were finally selected and classified into clinical picture, nursing care and challenges in OBGYN care. Discussion: Nursing professionals should identify barriers to care by evaluating institutional problem-solving capacity and analyzing maternal death cases. Using misoprostol and oxytocin or only carbetocin and ergometrine-oxytocin is suggested based on the quantity of blood loss. Conclusions: Performing a physical examination is important to recognize signs of hemodynamic instability and hypovolemic shock. Nursing diagnoses and interventions focus on providing quality patient care to prevent certain complications such as death.