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Card 12Massage the woman’s uterus.• Massage the uterus immediately after delivery of the placenta and membranes until it is firm.• After stopping massage, it is important that the uterus does not relax again.QUESTIONS1) Why should you massage the uterus after the placenta has been delivered?2) Why is it important to make sure the uterus does not relax (become soft) after you have massaged it?KEY MESSAGES• The uterus needs to contract to stop bleeding in the area that the placenta separated from it. If the uterus is soft, blood will comegushing out of that area and could cause the woman to bleed heavily and maybe die.• You should massage the uterus for two reasons:– Massaging the uterus stimulates uterine contractions and helps to prevent bleeding from the site in the uterus where theplacenta separated.– Sometimes blood clots build up in the uterus and may prevent the uterus from contracting. These blood clots in the uterus aresometimes expelled during this process.• The uterus may become soft as soon as you finish massaging it. If this happens, the woman could bleed heavily. You should alwaysmake sure that the uterus stays hard after you have massaged it.