Ministry of Health, South-West Zone Health Support Office, P.O. Box 3, Blantyre, Malawi.
Malawi Health Sector Program (DFID Project), Lilongwe, Malawi.
Reprod Health. 2017 Oct 23;14(1):134. doi: 10.1186/s12978-017-0401-7.
There is some evidence that appropriate use of partograph in monitoring the progress of labour could decrease delivery related complications. The documentation of parameters of partographs is however, poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which health care workers are making use of the partograph in monitoring the progress of labour through checking the documentation of the parameters of the partographs.
A hospital-based descriptive study involving retrospective review of partographs for births that occurred in 2016 was conducted in Malawi's South-West zone. A total of 1070 partographs that were used to monitor labour in two public hospitals were reviewed to determine the documentation of the parameters of partographs and descriptive statistics were computed using statistical package for the social science software version 22.0.
Of the total 1070 partographs reviewed, 58.6% (n = 627) of the partographs had no recording of maternal blood pressure and 65.3% (n = 699) of the partographs had no temperature documentation. Moulding was not recorded in 25.4% (n = 272) of the partographs, foetal heart rate was not recorded in 14.9% (n = 159) of the partographs and descent of the foetal head was not recorded in 12.0% (n = 128) of the partographs.
There is poor documentation of vital parameters of the partographs. This suggests insufficient monitoring of the progress of labour, which may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. To improve the accurate documentation of parameters of the partograph, there is a need to understand the problem and provide tailor-made solutions to address them and ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes. In the meantime, in-service refresher courses on partograph use to health care workers need to be conducted regularly. Supportive supervision to obstetric care providers and regular partograph audit could also improve documentation.
有证据表明，适当使用产程图监测分娩过程可以降低分娩相关并发症的发生率。然而，产程图参数的记录情况并不理想。本研究旨在通过检查产程图参数的记录情况，确定医护人员在多大程度上利用产程图监测分娩进展。
本研究是在马拉维西南部地区的两家公立医院进行的基于医院的描述性研究，回顾了 2016 年出生的产程图。共回顾了 1070 份用于监测分娩的产程图，以确定产程图参数的记录情况，并使用统计软件包 22.0 计算描述性统计数据。
在总共 1070 份回顾的产程图中，58.6%（n=627）的产程图没有记录产妇的血压，65.3%（n=699）的产程图没有体温记录。25.4%（n=272）的产程图没有记录胎头塑形情况，14.9%（n=159）的产程图没有记录胎心率，12.0%（n=128）的产程图没有记录胎头下降情况。
产程图重要参数的记录情况不佳。这表明对分娩进展的监测不足，可能导致妊娠结局不良。为了提高产程图参数记录的准确性，需要了解问题并提供针对性的解决方案来解决问题，最终改善妊娠结局。同时，需要定期为医护人员提供产程图使用在职培训课程。对产科医护人员的支持性监督和定期产程图审核也可以改善记录情况。
