Table 4.

Practices Which Are Frequently Used Inappropriately (Category D)

		Frequency of Observed Practice
		Labor		Delivery
Practices Which Are Frequently Used Inappropriately	Study Practices Observed (Where Different)	No.	(%)	No.	(%)
1. Restriction of fluids during labor		179/181	(99)
2. Pain control by systemic agents	Pain relief given on response to request	25/60	(42)
3. Pain control by epidural analgesia		0/182	(0)
4. Electronic fetal monitoring	Fetal heart heard appropriately	37/178	(21)	55/164	(34)
5. Wearing masks and sterile gowns during labor	Wearing sterile gowns and hair cover			2/174	(1)
6. Repeated or frequent vaginal examinations especially by more than one caregiver	Frequent vaginal exams:
	3–6 cm	60/145	(41)
	7–10 cm	77/174	(44)
	Women examined vaginally more than 10 times	29/180	(16)
	Women examined by:
	1 practitioner	21/179	(12)
	4 practitioners	58/179	(32)
7. Oxytocin augmentation		165/181	(91)
8. Routinely moving laboring woman to a different room at onset of second stage		177/177	(100)
9. Bladder catheterization	Catheter requested	15/176	(9)
10. Operative delivery	Vacuum			9/176	(5)
	Forceps			2/176	(1)
11. Liberal or routine use of episiotomy	Episiotomy performed			89/165	(54)
	Episiotomy performed for primipara			53/57	(93)
12. Manual exploration of uterus after delivery				35/175	(20)