Revitalizing the Partograph: Day 2

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The second day of the partograph meeting began with a discussion of how to overcome some of the challenges to partograph use identified on Day 1. The most significant challenges, as identified by polling attendees, included health systems failures and a lack of human resources. Additionally, participants noted that, while the main purpose of the partograph is as a decision making tool, it is most often used as a record keeping tool. Other challenges noted during discussions included a lack of training, acceptability of the partograph as a tool, and a failure of leadership.

Barbara Kwast, Grace Omoni, Florence Gans-Lartey and Jim Litch then presented on evidence gaps related to partograph use and made suggestions on how to fill them.

The meeting closed with various discussions about how to prioritize action, generate consensus and take next steps in order to ensure that the partograph is an acceptable tool to monitor labor in low resource settings.