Innovative Cotton Mats to Save Mothers’ Lives Globally

By Jim.Robinson|May 29, 2013

Despite the world’s constantly advancing technologies, it is sometimes the simplest things that make the biggest difference. One such thing is a carefully designed cotton mat that could save women around the globe from bleeding to death during childbirth.

Maternal deaths are still all too common in developing countries like Bangladesh where birthing fatalities in the last decade have been reduced 40%. Despite these improvements, there is still a large percentage of women who give birth at home using informal midwives and improvised obstetric treatment. In this environment, it is extremely difficult to know when something is going wrong. Normal blood loss can be difficult to distinguish from life-threatening hemorrhages.

According to The Economist, an invention by Dr. Mohammad Abdul Quaiyum of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka could save the lives of mothers in developing countries across the globe. A mixture of cotton and tissue paper, the 50cm mat is designed to absorb slightly more than 400 milliliters of blood — an amount that, if surpassed, could indicate a deadly situation and allow midwives or family members to know when professional help is needed.

Tested and distributed in 77,000 homebirth kits, Dr. Quaiyum and his team received a 97% satisfaction rate and indicated that 37 fewer mothers than expected had passed away during the birthing process.

To learn more about the invention and distribution process being used to get the mat into homes, read the rest of the story here.