A round table conference on Post Partum Hygiene in Bangalore at Divakar’s with a social enterprise called ayzh (‘pronounced ‘eyes’)

Goal: The goal would be to contribute key learnings about postpartum health and hygiene to the maternal health space. This will be done though an interactive discussion and visual capturing of the insights from the event.

Context: In the days immediately following childbirth, a woman’s body is incredibly vulnerable. Complete healing of the perineum tissue takes from four to six weeks – to prevent infection, women must take great care to keep her wound and perineal area clean and dry. However, the current ecosystem for delivering this kind of essential postpartum care poses multiple threats to the mother. Hygienic, high absorbent pads (not regular sanitary pads) are recommended for postpartum bleeding, which is heavy during the first few days postpartum (much heavier than menstrual flow and includes placental remains) and gradually stops after 2 or 3 weeks. However, few women have access to sanitary in low-resource settings, with many women resorting to using unhygienic materials typically used for menstruation. Infection after childbirth can be eliminated if good hygiene is practiced (even from 48to 36 hours post birth) and if early signs of infection are recognized and treated in a timely manner.

 Outcomes:

• Consolidation of key learnings and future goals from Gynecologists.
• Innovations to existing  post-partum pads planned.
• Loop feedback into a product that can be launched at AICOG Bangalore.