Haramaya

Researchers are studying the PartoMa approach, which includes locally agreed and achievable intrapartum care guidelines and a continuous in-house training program, to improve decision making during labor in Eastern Ethiopia. This study aims to introduce this approach along with continuous fetal heart rate monitoring using the MOYO device to reduce perinatal mortality and improve outcomes for mothers and newborns at two busy hospitals. The study is organized in four phases baseline assessment, co-creation of context-specific intrapartum care guidelines, implementation of PartoMa seminars and fetal heart rate monitoring, and post-intervention evaluation. The PartoMa seminars and low dose high frequency trainings are introduced after adapting guidelines from Tanzania to fit the local setting. Health providers will use continuous fetal heart rate monitoring with the MOYO device to support decision making during labor. Participants include laboring women delivering at the study sites and health care providers. Women and their newborns will be followed until discharge. Researchers will collect data through interviews, observations, and record reviews to assess fetal heart rate monitoring practices, guideline compliance, and pregnancy outcomes. Key outcomes include stillbirth, birth asphyxia, maternal death, cesarean sections, and quality of intrapartum care. The study runs from June 2023 to May 2025 with ongoing monitoring and evaluation throughout.