Introduction of a simplified round partogram in rural maternity units: Seno province, Burkina Faso, West-Africa.

After a 3-day seminar on the utilization of a rectangular World Health Organization (WHO) version of the partogram and the round partogram, both versions were used under supervision in the maternity rooms of the Seno province, Burkina Faso, West-Africa, for 3 months. After this period a semi-standardized questionnaire was distributed among the partogram users. Using the round partogram with a plastic dial (dilatation indicator for the assessment of labour--DIAL), the two most common errors in the utilization of the rectangular partogram, incorrect recording at the initial examination and at the transition from latent to active phase, were largely avoided. Although the partogram was used in only 46.6% of all deliveries at the health unit level, 86% of the maternity staff using the partograms preferred the round partogram because of its time-saving and user-friendly qualities. Eighty-six per cent of its users felt that by starting the alert- and action-lines at a point later than that in the WHO partogram they would be able to avoid transferring patients unnecessarily. The wide acceptance of the simplified round partogram among the peripheral health units surveyed shows that the partogram would be an attractive tool for its users when it is made easy to use and a useful indicator for determining whether a patient transfer is necessary.