An eighteen-year-old girl died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital one day due to excessive postpartum uterine bleeding. Dr. Saiba Akhter was then the head of the gynecology department of the hospital.
This type of bleeding is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in Bangladesh.
Although there is a treatment for this kind of problem, but the technology that is available for this, the price is three hundred dollars, about twenty four thousand Bangladeshi taka.
About the year 2000. At that time only one copy of this technology was brought to Dhaka Medical College, not to be used more than once, but the doctors used it only a few times.
One day it was lost. The girl died on the same day.
The technology is basically a balloon, which is inserted into the uterus and inflated to virtually stop the bleeding.
As this technology was expensive for a country like Bangladesh, so Dr. Sayeba Akter thought about a new tecnique. Then new thought crossed her head.
She thought,"If I insert a condom into the uterus, because the condom is a medical device, if I insert it into the uterus and then inflate it, it will stop the bleeding. Then I saw how much water or saline the condom could hold. I put a liter of fluid into it and tried a lot but couldn't."
And the next day she went to hospital and saw a mother who has excessive postpartum uterine bleeding. She tested her method.
Bleeding stopped within fifteen minutes after the condom was tied with a catheter and inserted into her uterus and inflated with saline.
The cost of making the whole arrangement is less than one hundred taka. (like 1.15 usd)
Since then the method has been known as Saiba's Method. It is being used in many countries of the world. It is a recognized medical system in hospitals in Bangladesh.
Dr. Saiba Akhter was born in Chittagong. His father was a teacher at Kortia Sadat College in Tangail and he grew up on that campus.
He studied medicine at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the first place of work.
Husband said. Mohammad Jahangir Kabir is also a doctor. He is a kidney specialist and former director of the National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology.
The eldest of three daughters and one son is also a doctor.