An observational study to compare WHO modified partogram and paperless partogram

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare WHO modified partogram and paperless partogram in the effective management of labor. Methods: This hospital-based prospective observational study included 200 pregnant women. They were randomized into Group A (n=100) who were monitored with paperless partogram during active labor and Group B (n=100) who were monitored with WHO modified partogram. Resident doctors compared the partographs on the basis of user friendliness (1-10), teachability (1-10), and overall usefulness (1-10). Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was used for statistical analysis. P-value of 0.05). Among residents, 57% expressed difficulty with plotting and maintaining WHO Modified partograph. WHO Modified partograph had significantly lower user friendliness score (5.83 ± 0.75 vs. 9 ± 0.89, P=0.0001), teachability score (7 ± 0.63 vs. 9.5 ± 0.55, P=0.003), and overall usefulness (7.5 ± 0.55 vs. 8.83 ± 0.41, P=0.005) than paperless partograph. Conclusion: Paperless partogram was found to be better compared to WHO partogram with respect to user friendliness, teachability, and overall usefulness. It appears to be promising to replace the WHO partograph for monitoring of labor.

Keywords

• labor
• management
• partograph