Prolonged & Obstructed Labor
By 
This course is designed to reduce maternal and newborn deaths related to prolonged or obstructed labor. Healthcare workers learn to assess, monitor, and support women whose labor is not progressing normally or who experience difficulties such as, abnormal presentation or position of the baby, ineffective contractions, and shoulder dystocia.
P&OL learning materials are currently available in pilot version for testing.
Joining or facilitating P&OL? Find resources for your role
Who is this course for
P&OL is designed for all healthcare providers who have the responsibility of assessing and caring for women whose labor is not progressing normally, including providing pre-referral or pre-operative care for women who require advanced care.
What they will learn
The P&OL module builds the capacity of the entire team of healthcare providers who care for women at birth. Skills are built around teamwork and communication, and reinforce respectful, high-quality care to save lives at birth. The course is delivered in two parts.
Part 1: Assessment
- Identifying the signs of potential complications
- Making time-critical decisions
- Communicating with the mother and the team
Part 2: Management
- Performing maneuvers to assist delivery of abnormal presentations such as breech position, and shoulder dystocia.
- Managing ineffective contractions including administration of oxytocin
- Decision-making to seek advanced care
Course components
- Action Plans — guides the learning and can be a job aid in the facility.
English | French - Flip Charts — Educational tools to assist facilitators during training.
Flipchart 1 English | Flipchart 2 English
Flipchart 1 French | Flipchart 2 French - Provider Guides — Supports participants to continue practice and improved quality of care.
Provider Guide 1 English | Provider Guide 2 English
Provider Guide 1 French | Provider Guide 2 French - MamaBirthie Simulator — While a variety of simulators may be used for this module, we recommend the MamaBirthie. This is a s low cost, portable, and durable option which allows for role modeling respectful care.
Our approach to learning
The Helping Mothers and Babies Survive courses have a common methodology, based on the evidence that better learning outcomes result from:
- Targeted, repetitive interventions
- Case-based simulation practice
- On-site training in teams
About Jhpiego
This course was developed by Jhpiego, an organization that creates and delivers transformative health care solutions that save lives. They believe that where people live should not determine if they live. In partnership with national governments, health experts and local communities, Jhpiego builds health providers’ skills and develops systems that save lives now and guarantee healthier futures for women and their families. Jhpiego’s dedicated team of technical experts in human resource development; maternal and newborn health; monitoring, evaluation and research; in concert with global partners has brought the HMS suite of training materials forth to improve quality of care at birth.