Report of Consultative Meeting: Revitalizing the Partograph
EngenderHealth’s Fistula Care project and the Maternal Health Task Force held a consultative meeting in November 2011 to review evidence and make recommendations about the partograph, a decision-making tool for preventing and managing prolonged or obstructed labor. Correct use of the partograph can prevent serious complications, including ruptured uterus, obstetric fistula, and stillbirth.
Yet after more than 50 years of training and investment in the partograph in low-resource settings, it remains an under-utilized tool and too few health care workers understand how to use it properly. This report (English, PDF, 370KB) explores the health system challenges to partograph implementation and the evidence in favor of revitalizing its use, not only to manage labor effectively, but also to improve the overall quality of care offered to women and their babies during childbirth.