[Active management of labor in Dublin: what is it 15 years later?]

Abstract

Every obstetrician, in his readings, must have come across a report of article by K. O'Driscoll, and could not remain indifferent (surprise, incredulity, even anger...) in front of astonishing results: 5% of caesarean sections, 5 to 6% of forceps deliveries, combined with a recruiting worthy of any large university center and creditable neonatal results which are accurately analysed. In view of the difficulty and understanding of the basis of "active management of labor", advocated by this team and described as the main reason of its success, the author tried to understand, while staying in this department, the highlights of its daily obstetrical practice. In this detailed report of the activities of this irish obstetrical team, the author wanted to put the results back in their context and broadly outline the organization of this department and the management of labor, in order to evaluate the significance of the figures reported in numerous international publications and too often not easy to analyse for uninformed readers.