Acute renal failure

As a result of haemorrhagic shock and the reduced amount of blood flowing to the kidneys, they may stop functioning. As a result, the woman produces very little urine, so toxic material which should have been cleared from her blood by her kidneys and expelled in her urine will build up in her blood. The accumulation of toxic chemicals in her blood rapidly causes her to become severely ill and death follows unless the condition is reversed. This condition is called acute renal failure ('acute' means it develops quickly into a life-threatening condition; 'renal' is a medical term referring to anything to do with the kidneys).