Giving drugs to contract the uterus after childbirth is considered the cornerstone of efforts to prevent post - partum haemorrhage, oxytocin is the drug currently recommended but it is heat sensitive and loses potency in hot climates -- the sorts of places where many mothers die.

Ian Roberts

Categorized in : Health News

Heat stable carbetocin is much more expensive than oxytocin. The drug company that makes it has an agreement with WHO to make it available at a reasonable price in poor countries but the devil is in the detail, what will it actually cost ? Which countries will receive it ? For how long ? Will it reduce availability of the cheaper oxytocin ? And what about poor mothers in rich countries ? These are all factors that need to be considered.