Background
High rates of maternal mortality and stillbirth affect many low-income countries in Southern Asia, including Laos. The main causes of death for mothers and newborns are due to obstructed labour (when the baby has trouble exiting the uterus), internal bleedings and health complications affecting the newborn.

About the project
This project was created to introduce partograph monitoring during labour and emergency obstetric care, as a way of reducing complicated labours and deliveries at the Mother and Child Health Hospital. A partograph is a graphic record of the progress of labour, which can help health workers detect any abnormalities. The project team trained the hospital’s medical doctors and midwives on how to use the partograph to monitor deliveries.

Results
By the end of the project, 4 medical doctors and 20 midwives had been trained on partograph use. They applied the partograph to monitor 640 deliveries during July and August 2007. The project team’s evaluations showed that over 50% of the midwives could use the partograph in a correct way to manage their clients’ deliveries. This number is improving over time as the staff practice and increase their confidence. The Mother and Child Health Hospital is now applying this model to train more staff members on partograph use, in order to improve the quality of health services for women giving birth there.

Year: 2007