Now, a game for African midwives to help cut childbirth mortality rate

Researchers have designed a board game, 'Progression,' to help African midwives prevent death and illness during childbirth.

The game has been specially created to help in the use of a chart, which many midwives find difficult to complete, the BBC reported.

According to the creators, midwives generally struggle to use the partograph or the chart as a decision-making aid. A partograph is a composite graphical record of key data during labour entered against time on a single sheet of paper, which records heart rate, blood pressure and temperature and is used to detect problems during labour.

While playing the game, players have to answer randomly selected card question to keep moving.

Many midwives in east Africa said that the game was well-received.

Lead author Tina Lavender said that the game was designed to provide new knowledge, revise what they already knew and discuss with other players the best ways to support women.

Lavender added that that the crucial benefit of using this game was that it allows midwives to make mistakes without endangering lives.