An Analysis Of Characteristics Of Labour And Outcome Before And After The Introduction Of The Partograph In A Hospital In Ghana

A B S TR A C T The main purpose o f th is re tro s p e c tiv e com parative stu dy o f random ly selected women was to assess the partograph as an aid to p a rtu ritio n and to p ro vid e fu rth e r inform ation to s u p p o rt more w idespread use o f th is instru m ent and id e n tify any areas w here im provem ent could be made. Two g ro up s o f women expecting th e ir f ir s t babies were stu die d. The p re -p a rto g ra p h group comprised 65 women who d elivered in 1988 before the p a rto g ra p h programme was in tro d u ce d in Ghana. The p o s t-p a rto g ra p h group composed o f 76 women who had th e ir babies in 1991, two years a fte r the inception o f th e programme. There was a s ta tis tic a lly s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n ce between the two g ro u p s which showed th a t more women in the p ostp a rto g ra p h group were given sedatives and tra n q u illis e rs in la b o u r (P