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The New Wonder Treatment for Severe Bleeding Capable of Saving Lives of Mothers around the World  

An inexpensive and widely available drug could save the lives of one in three mothers who would otherwise bleed to death after childbirth, according to a major study published in The Lancet. The global trial of 20,000 women found that death due to bleeding was reduced by 31% if the treatment was given within three hours. The drug, called tranexamic acid (TXA), works by stopping blood clots from breaking down. The findings also show it reduced the need for urgent surgery to control bleeding (laparotomy) by more than a third (36%). Severe bleeding after childbirth (known as post-partum haemorrhage or PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. More than 100,000 women globally die each year from the condition, but this clot-stabilising drug has the potential to reduce the number substantially. The WOMAN (World Maternal Antifibrinolytic) Trial recruited mothers from 193 hospitals in 21 countries, mainly in Africa…