Objective:

To describe the degree of adherence of the health personnel to the recommendations of the World Health Organization in the care of humanized delivery and birth in Medellín, Colombia.

Methods:

Descriptive cross-sectional study, 256 deliveries attended in three institutions of third level in Medellín and Rionegro Antioquia (April - December 2016), were studied. Pregnant women who entered the stage of labor were included, data were obtained from direct observation and application of a checklist of WHO recommendations. For the analysis of the information, descriptive statistics and for the bivariate analysis Chi square test were applied.

Results:

The proportion of caesarean section was high 34.8 %; there was no completion of the partogram in 29.3 %; the privacy of women is violated 26.2 %; there were no facilities for ambulation 92.2 %; the use of forceps continues to present, although in a low proportion 7.4 %; Episiotomy remains an unjustified procedure with 16.8 %. Prophylactic antibiotics were used in 41 %.

Conclusions:

The degree of adherence on the part of the institutions and health personnel participating during the process of the care labor, delivery and the newborn are far from the recommendations by the WHO.