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SIR 2026

Scientific Session

Women's Health

Session: Women's Health 2

276 - Mapping Global Need for Emergent UAE: Geospatial Analysis of Post-Partum Hemorrhage Worldwide and the Relation to IR Physician Density

Tuesday, April 14, 2026
3:09 PM - 3:18 PM ET
Purpose: To assess the global need for emergent UAE for PPH in relation to IR physician density.

Materials and Methods: WHO datasets were used to assess rates of death from post-partum hemorrhage (PPH). Interventional radiologist estimates were drawn from in-country communication and published literature. ArcGIS was used to generate maps of MMR, PPH and IR density at the country level. Bivariate mapping identified correlations between high MMR, maternal PPH, and low IR availability, and spatial autocorrelation tested the significance of observed patterns.

Results: Annual maternal mortality rates (MMR) vary significantly across countries, with some countries reporting rates of nearly 1,000 deaths per 100,000, versus 16 in the United States {1}. PPH is the leading cause of maternal death, and affects ~14 million women annually with ~70,000 deaths. There is a disproportionate burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) {2}. For example, in Nigeria, ~20,000 deaths are due to PPH {3}.
In the WOMAN trial, 75% of deaths occurred within 3 hours of delivery and >90% were due to bleeding. IR capacity for emergent UAE remains unevenly distributed {4}. For example, the United States has an estimate 3,000-4,500 practicing interventional radiologists with approximately 3.5 million annual births, while Nigeria has only 3 practicing interventional radiologist with more than 7 million births {5}. This represents ~1 IR per 1,000 births in the US vs ~1 per 2.3 million live births in Nigeria. While resource constraints remain a barrier to implementing IR services in LMICs, urgent efforts are needed to correct these disparities.

Conclusion: There is significant disparity in MMR and PPH deaths, and the number of IR physicians per country. Geospatial analysis can provide insight into global health disparities and identify regions at highest need for IR services.