Best Partograph Action Line to Prevent Prolonged Labour

Objective: To compare active labour outcomes in nulliparous women at term supervised with a partograph with the action line placed at either 2 hours or 4 hours and to determine whether the 2-hour action line placement is better for the prevention of prolonged labour. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: A university teaching hospital in Nigeria. Population: Nulliparous women in labour at term. Method: Nulliparous women in labour were randomly supervised with a partograph with the action line placed at 2 hours (n=320) or 4 hours (n=320). Oxytocin augmentation, when required, was used only at the 2-hour (n=87) or 4-hour (n=61) action lines. Progress monitoring was the same in both groups. Main outcome measure: The primary outcome measure was the prolonged labour rate. The secondary outcome measures were the mode of delivery and neonatal outcome.