Calcium Supplementation and Uterine Atony: Simple Solution to a Big Problem

Objective: To compare the frequency of uterine atony in laboring women who are given prophylactic Calcium Chloride versus laboring women who did not receive it. Study design: Quasi-experimental study Place and duration of study: Pakistan Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, Pakistan from Oct 2023 to Mar 2024. Methodology: After getting approval of hospitals ethical committee, eighty-two gravid women at term, who were at the risk of development of uterine atony were recruited. The study participants were then divided into two groups. 41 patients were placed in Group-A, while 41 patients were placed in Group-C. The patients in Group-C were given one gram of Calcium Chloride (10ml of 10% Calcium Chloride solution) along with Oxytocin (10 international units) after cord clamping while Group-A patients were only given Oxytocin (10 international units) after cord clamping. The frequency of uterine atony was taken as the primary outcome. Results: The uterine atony was present in 7(17.1%) Group-C patients in which supplemental calcium was administered, however 34(82.9%) patients did not develop uterine atony in contrast to Group-A where 15(38.5%) patients developed uterine atony, and twenty-four (61.5%) patients did not develop atony with p- value of less than 0.05. Conclusion: The Intravenous administration of Calcium Chloride can prevent uterine atony during delivery in patients at risk of developing post-partum hemorrhage.