Fake Blood Recipe for EBL

/

Have you heard the saying that OB’s tend to underestimate, and midwives tend to overestimate EBL? Whatever your tendency, practicing EBL is an important way to sharpen this skill!  

Pictured here are NMI student midwives estimating blood loss at a recent

 in-person skills practice day in Ukiah, California. (From right to left: Sarah Lennartz, Renata Provost, Angela Steele, Kathryn Webb, and Ruby Tuttle.) We practiced EBL, among other skills. We used fake blood that I made with my teenager in our kitchen. It’s easy, and you likely have most ingredients in your kitchen, or can easily get at a conventional grocery store. We made pretty convincing looking fake blood!  

RECIPE FOR FAKE BLOOD

I started with the corn syrup and added the rest of the ingredients until I had the color and consistency that looked most realistic. This makes about a 1000 mL.

In a mixing bowl add the following ingredients & whisk together: 

  • 16 oz Corn Syrup (get the 32 oz bottle if you want to make a large amount )

  • Red Food Coloring (I used Crimson Red from Michael’s Craft Store)

  • Chocolate syrup or cacao power (this darkens the color to make it look more real, and makes it opaque. Some add blue food coloring for more accurate blood color instead.) 

  • All Purpose Flour and/or corn starch to thicken and make more viscous, and add to opacity.

  • Water as need

  • Optional: Evaporated milk (I didn’t use this ingredient for the blood pictured above, but this makes the blood opaque instead of translucent.) 

For online articles & fake blood recipes check these links out: