Study goal to reduce rates of C-section

Reducing the rate of caesarean section and improving the quality of labour and childbirth management is the goal of a new two-year project led by Burnet Institute Principal Research Fellow, Associate Professor Joshua Vogel.

Work will focus on the development of an implementation strategy to assess the effectiveness of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recently updated Labour Care Guide in a pilot trial in four maternity hospitals in India.

The WHO Labour Care Guide is a next generation partograph – a clinical tool used by maternity care providers to monitor and manage labour – based on WHO’s latest intrapartum care recommendations.

Associate Professor Vogel was the lead author of an evaluation published in the journal Birth that demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of the Labour Care Guide in a wide range of international settings.

“This project is a continuation of our existing collaboration on the Labour Care Guide for improving the quality of labour and childbirth care,” Associate Professor Vogel said.

“We’ll be implementing the Labour Care Guide in four hospitals in Karnataka state to see how overuse of caesarean section can be reduced and women’s care experiences can be improved.”

Associate Professor Vogel said he expects this study and international collaborations to generate innovative tools and critical evidence to support the broader implementation of the Labour Care Guide internationally.

“This is an exciting project and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with the KLE Higher Academy of Research in India and also the Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy in Argentina looking at how we can reduce unnecessary Caesarean section use,” he said.

This work is being supported by a Global Grand Challenges Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Find out how you can support Burnet’s life-saving research in Maternal, Child and Adolescent health.

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