Welcome to the ePoster Viewing Panel of AICOG 2025

Introduction : Birth companion is a key component for providing respectful maternity care and has been recommended by WHO and Government of India. It is a low-cost beneficial intervention that is vital in improving quality of care during labor and delivery. Aims & Objectives : The aim was to utilize the help of labor companion of choice to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes, including enhancing physiological labor and birth experiences of laboring women. Materials and methods : Department of OBGY, MGIMS Sevagram, a tertiary care hospital, started the policy of 100 percent presence of birth companion with laboring women way back in 2012, nearly 12years back, certain pre-requisites for birth companion were listed, qualitative data collection was done by conducting FGD's (focused group discussions) and quantitative data by using a pre-tested questionnaire. Results : In this study after assessing the reviews of providers, out of 124 providers, 105 providers wanted birth companion with the laboring women as it was beneficial to the laboring women and healthcare providers too. Conclusions : Looking at the benefits of a birth companion, in an innovative move to reduce the Maternal mortality ratio and Infant mortality rate, labor companion has improved outcomes for women, decreased interventions, and caesarean section, has improved newborn outcome, parent/infant bonding and has increased positive feelings about the birth experience. References : 1. Bharti J, Kumari A, Zangmo R, Mathew S, Kumar S, Sharma AK. Establishing the practice of birth companion in labour ward of a tertiary care centre in India-a quality improvement initiative. BMJ Open Qual. 2021 Jul;10(Suppl 1):e001409. doi: 10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001409. PMID: 34344753; PMCID: PMC8336223. 2. Bohren MA, Hazfiarini A, Vazquez Corona M, Colomar M, De Mucio B, Tun?alp ?, Portela A. From global recommendations to (in)action: A scoping review of the coverage of companion of choice for women during labour and birth. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Feb 1;3(2):e0001476. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001476. PMID: 36963069; PMCID: PMC10021298.