Approximately 100,000 women a year die around the world from blood loss associated with childbirth.

It is the leading cause of maternal death.

New research indicates that a cheap, safe drug called tranexamic acid, which been around for more than 50 years, could save up to a third of those lives.

The WOMAN (World Maternal Antifibrinolytic) trial involved more than 20,000 women from 193 hospitals in 21 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia and the results have been published in the Lancet journal.

Professor Haleema Shakur from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is the co-leader of the report.