Care technologies to prevent and control hemorrhage in the third stage of labor: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: to identify evidence concerning the contribution of health technologies used to prevent and control hemorrhaging in the third stage of labor. METHOD: systematic review with database searches. First, two researchers independently selected the papers and, at a second point in time, held a reconciliation meeting. The Kappa coefficient was used to assess agreement, while the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation was adopted to assess risk of bias and classify level of evidence. RESULTS: in this review, 42 papers were included, 34 of which addressed product technologies, most referred to pharmacological products, while two papers addressed the use of blood transparent plastic bags collector and the contribution of birth spacing and prenatal care. The eight papers addressing process technologies included the active management of the third stage of labor, controlled cord traction, uterine massage, and educational interventions. CONCLUSION: product and process technologies presented high and moderate evidence confirmed in 61.90% of the papers. The levels of evidence confirm the contribution of technologies to prevent and control hemorrhaging. Clinical nurses should provide scientific-based care and develop protocols addressing nursing care actions.