Midwives in Zimbabwe and Zambia have given us powerful stories as reminders that this simple garment can save lives. Read their quotes:
“I wish I could stand on top of the world to explain the effectiveness of the anti-shock garment. I am now a better midwife and very confident that I can save many lives by application of the garment.”
– E.M., Zimbabwe
“My patient was unconscious when she arrived at the hospital. I was called to attend to her, but all the staff thought she died shortly thereafter. I noticed her breathing and applied the garment. Within 15 minutes I saw her moving her head and her blood pressure was rising. The jugular vein started to pulsate and it was a surprise for the staff who were there! After receving IV fluids and blood the patient became stable. She was later discharged and went home. Thanks to the NASG which rescued this patient who would have otherwise died.”
-G.M., Zimbabwe
“We had one woman who had PPH; she was just pouring and pouring and then the blood pressure, it was going down. We had put up normal saline, but still the pressure continued [to drop], but then I realized that the garment was here in the clinic and immediately we put it on and the BP, it stabilized. The patient also started responding to questions, and then immediately after placing the garment on the woman, (the ambulance came in maybe 15 minutes after placing the garment), then she was rushed to the center. Still, the condition had stabilized compared to the time before the garment was placed on. I actually saw life being saved that night with the garment, and I’m very sure it’s going to be very useful and life saving [after the study ends].”
-Ezra, Zambia
“I had an obstetric hemorrhage case which I remember vividly. I was on night duty and in the early hours of the next morning I met ambulance drivers wheeling in a woman who had delivered in transit. She was bleeding profusely and rapidly losing consciousness. Her vitals revealed she was going in to shock. A doctor assisted me in applying the garment. After application the blood pressure began to stabilize, the patient regained consciousness and asked what had happened and asking for her baby. After surgery and several units of blood the patient became hemodynamically stable. The garment was truly a lifesaver for this woman.”
B.H., Zimbabwe
As part of the NASG study, midwives have been trained in preventing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH):
“I received a woman in labor who came into the clinic with her husband. The labor progressed and she gave birth to a healthy male. Just after delivery of the placenta and membranes she started bleeding… a lot. This is where the story begins. Had it not been for the study, I would have suffered. I would have messed up. But because of the study, I knew to empty her bladder, give fundal pressure. I gave her a drip with normal saline and gave her oxytocin. I was alone when she started bleeding, but with these few things her blood pressure came up! She stabilized. She was managed. Yes. Before, we used to send patients off to Central Hospital without any of this. We would have lost this patient if we had sent her off. Instead, because of what I learned from the study, she was managed. She lived!”
-Margaret, Zambia
