CIESAS – EmOC in Mexico

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The following is part of a series of project updates from the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia (CIESAS). MHTF is supporting their project, Evaluation of ALSO Program. More information on MHTF supported projects can be found here.

In the last quarter (November 2010 – January 2011), CIESAS and its partner Population Council, continued with their evaluation on the impact of the ALSO program in the main public hospital of Oaxaca City, Mexico. Sixty-seven obstetric emergencies of severe preeclampsia/eclampsia and intra-partum/post-partum hemorrhage were observed during the morning and night shifts at the hospital up to mid-February. At the same time, our four observers have begun to observe the management of hospital births, paying particular attention to the active management of the third stage of labor. Up to now, 77 hospital births’ checklists were filled, observing some crucial management aspects that ALSO teaches in its courses to attending OB/Gyns.

Finally, we have been paying more attention to the hospital context where our observers carry out the observations. Observers have been asked to improve their recording in their field diaries of all events, actions, conversations or other non verbal interactions, that have to do with the actual unfolding of hospital’s and hospital personnel’s day to day activities that they observe, including the actual interaction that medical, nursing and administrative personnel establish with them day after day during their stay at the hospital.