Every Second Matters for Mothers: Uterine Balloon Tamponade

UBT Kit Training Session with Five People in Sierra Leone
Photo fromMGH Division of Global Health and Human Rights, Department of Emergency Medicine

Every Second Matters for Mothers-Uterine Balloon Tamponade (ESM-UBT) is a low-cost device, made from a condom attached to a Foley catheter with string, that helps combat post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) morbidity and mortality by stopping uncontrolled blood loss during birth. 

Read the case study on key factors contributing to the introduction and uptake of the ESM-UBT.

Global Burden of PPH: 14 million cases annually (2018)
WHO Policy Guidelines to Ideation: 3 years
Number of Countries Adopted: 22 (2017)
WHO Policy to Ideation :
3 Years
Ideation to 1st Country Launch:
>1 Year
1st Country Launch to Proof of Concept:
2 Years
Proof of Concept to Stringent Regulatory Authority Approval
>4 Years

Since its ideation in 2009, the ESM-UBT package has been introduced and implemented in 22 countries. The ESM UBT was developed as a low-cost alternative (<$5) to manufactured balloons which can cost more than $400. This package has the potential to save lives, especially in low resource settings, where most maternal deaths due to PPH occur. While the global uptake of this lifesaving device has yet to be seen its effectiveness has been proven. After an initial launch in Kenya in 2013, the research and use of the ESM UBT expanded to other countries (i.e.: Tanzania and Nepal). The ESM UBT is an innovative, accessible device that can and should be used as a long-term strategy for treating PPH.