KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.  –   The staff of Keesler Medical Center’s Family Birthing Center is employing an innovative tool for birthing people experiencing postpartum hemorrhage.

The Jada® system, a new tool in their arsenal, will be used to provide control and treatment of abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding.

According to the National Institute of Health, postpartum hemorrhage remains a leading cause of maternal death worldwide.

“We are the first in the Air Force Medical Service to order and receive the device,” said Family Birthing Center Flight Commander, Maj. Rachel Cox.

“Before the system could be used at Keesler, an evidence-based practice council was required.”

What is an Evidence-Based Practice Council?

“The EBP council was established to support the Military Treatment Facility in the delivery of cost-effective, highly reliable patient care, and to continuously improve the patient care delivery model through increasing the foundation of evidence-based practice,” said Maj. Brian Rottweiler, clinical nurse specialist, 81st Inpatient Operations Squadron, and chair of the 81st Medical Group’s Evidence-Based Practice Council.

According to Rottweiler, the function of the EBP council is to support, assist, mentor, and guide staff in the identification of clinical gaps and evaluate and integrate evidence-based practice into clinical operational processes to improve outcomes that are compatible with organizational and/or enterprise goals. In short, it is a process to review, analyze, and translate the latest scientific evidence.

“The council determined the Jada® system to be a reliable product for controlling postpartum hemorrhage and approved its use in October,” Rottweiler said.

How does it work?

According to Capt. Aikeya Conner, Family Birthing Center element chief, 81 IPTS, the system is an intrauterine device that uses a low-level vacuum to encourage the natural forces of uterine contraction to control abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding or postpartum hemorrhage after childbirth.

“The system rapidly controls uterine bleeding and has a 94% success rate,” Conner said.

“The previous device was more cumbersome and difficult to use,” said Nurse Manager Heather Williams.

“We are excited to have the Jada® available so that we can continue to provide the best care to our patients,” Williams said.