Postpartum hemorrhage remains the leading cause of maternal death in France. Parturients in western French Guiana have specific sociodemographic features and a high rate of pathological pregnancies. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of immediate postpartum hemorrhage (IPPH) in western French Guiana, and to describe the etiologies and risk factors.

A case control study with incident cases was conducted in the Maternity Department of the Western French Guiana Hospital over a period of one year. The cases included women giving birth to a child of 22 weeks’ GA and/or a child weighing 500 g, and who presented with IPPH. Two control subjects were included per case (after pairing for mode of delivery). The data were collected by questionnaire and from medical records. Multivariate analyses by logistic regression were conducted.

154 cases and 308 controls were included. The incidence rate of IPPH was 6.7%. The primary etiologies were: atony, placenta retention, and cervico-vaginal lesions. The factors associated with IPPH were: past history of IPPH (ORadj = 3.36 [1.65–6.87]), pre-eclampsia (ORadj = 2.56 [1.07–6.14]), labor induction by oxytocin (ORadj = 2.03 [1.03–3.99]), the absence of managed placental delivery (ORadj = 2.46 [1.24–4.91]), a gap of more than 30 min between birth and placental delivery (ORadj = 10.92 [2.17–54.99]), and macrosomia (ORadj = 6.38 [1.97–20.67]).

The incidence rate of IPPH is similar to that found in metropolitan France and in the literature. The risk factors identified here will enable the development of appropriate preventive protocols.