Table 3 Actual practice in four hospitals in China. Procedures are categorised into "avoid as routine" or "encourage as routine" through reference to research evidence from Cochrane Systematic Reviews
| Â | Specialist | City MCH | District | County | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vaginal deliveries (women) | 75 | 82 | 41 | 105 | 303 |
Avoid as routine | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Pubic shaving (%) | 0 (0) | 82 (100) | 39 (95) | 98 (93) | 219 (72) |
   Enemas | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 22 (54) | 0 (0) | 24 (8) |
   Rectal examination | 71 (95) | 0 (0) | 39 (95) | 103 (98) | 213 (70) |
   Supine position | 75 (100) | 82 (100) | 41 (100) | 102 (97) | 300 (99) |
   Electronic FHR | 75 (100) | 76 (93) | 37 (90) | 1 (1) | 189 (62) |
   monitoring |  |  |  |  |  |
   Episiotomy | 70 (93) | 74 (90) | 36 (88) | 68 (65) | 248 (82) |
Encourage as routine | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
   Mobility during labour | 27 (36) | 19 (23) | 23 (56) | 8 (8) | 77 (25) |
   Companionship during | 6 (8) | 30 (36) | 38 (93) | 8 (8) | 82 (27) |
   labour |  |  |  |  |  |