The Partogram - evidence based medicine is personal opinion based on fact.

The article by Bonet (BJOG ……..) is not the first paper to challenge the benefit of the partogram and the 1cm/hour rate of progress. Although the conclusion is simple the evidence and methodology used is not convincing to those that use the partogram on a daily basis. The use of the partogram and normal progress of labour at ≥1 cm/hour are an integral part of the philosophy of Active Management Labour (AML) which has been practiced at the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin for the last 55 years. This philosophy which at best is often misunderstood and ignored and at worst misrepresented and misused has been shown to be associated with low caesarean section rates (CSR) in spontaneous labour and also reduce CSR when studied in randomized trials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.