Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the biggest threats to mothers after childbirth, especially in low-income countries. In places like Bangladesh, many women used to die from heavy bleeding shortly after delivery. Often, the only solution was a hysterectomy, removing the uterus to save lives, but that meant no more children.
In 2000, as the head of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dr. Sayeba Akhter observed a high number of maternal deaths caused by postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), a condition involving severe bleeding after childbirth. At the time, PPH caused about 31% of maternal deaths in Bangladesh. She found a better way. She invented the Condom Uterine Tamponade, a low-cost, easy-to-use method to stop bleeding while keeping the uterus intact.
She tested the method on 23 more women. All survived. This low-cost device (costing only around 100 Taka or $0.99) became known worldwide as “Sayeba’s Method” or the condom catheter tamponade.
Millions of women around the world have been saved by her method, which is now implemented in countries including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Canada. It’s published in major medical journals like Medscape and the British Medical Journal.
Despite its success, credit has sometimes wrongly gone to others, including a Kenyan midwife in a BBC report. Dr. Sayeba and her colleagues continue to raise awareness to ensure her life-saving invention is properly recognized.
Dr. Sayeba now trains doctors internationally, continuing her mission to save mothers’ lives.
Process Definition
Dr. Sayeba used a simple mix of items: a catheter, a condom and saline solution. The condom is tied to the catheter, inserted into the uterus and then filled with saline. This creates pressure inside the uterus, stopping the bleeding quickly.
Sayeba’s Method is practiced in several countries like India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It’s especially helpful in rural clinics where advanced treatments aren’t available. The whole setup costs just about 100 Taka (less than $1).
Working Process
- Insert a catheter into a condom and tie it.
- Through the vagina, insert the condom into the uterus.
- Fill the condom with 25–500ml of saline.
- When bleeding slows, stop inflation and tie the catheter.
- Leave it as is for 24 to 48 hours.
- Support with antibiotics and oxytocin drip.
This method doesn’t need expert doctors and can be used in most basic health facilities. Dr. Sayeba was inspired after watching two women die from PPH. She remembered how children play with water balloons and had the idea of using a condom to apply pressure inside the uterus. It worked and saved lives.
Sayeba’s method is a life-saving, uterus-sparing, low-cost technique to control PPH. It’s a smart alternative to surgery and perfect for low-resource settings.
