Informed Consent in Emergency Obstetrics: Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Do women who have received standardised information relating to emergency obstetric interventions in the antenatal period report feeling better prepared and informed for labour and delivery compared with findings from service evaluation (Informed Consent in Obstetrics - A Survey of Pregnant Women to Set a New Standard for Consent in Emergency Obstetric Interventions - 196 women).
IRAS ID
280938
Contact name
Tracey E Sturgeon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Highland
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 26 days
Research summary
Respect for autonomy supports the right of women to make their own decisions about accepting or refusing intervention. Tension between autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence may cause conflict between a woman and her care-givers impeding communication, compromising care, and contributing to poor fetal and maternal outcomes in some cases. To obtain informed consent, there should be a process of shared understanding and decision making between patient and clinician. This process should take place over time and this makes obtaining informed consent for emergency obstetric procedures very challenging. Although consent for a peri-partum intervention may be given by a woman, this can rarely be deemed "informed" due to the duress of the circumstances, lack of sleep, use of opiate analgaesia etc. Our service evaluation highlighted that women are less informed than expected about potential for emergency intervention around the time of delivery and our regional and national data suggest that at least 50% of women in 2018 required intervention or assistance of some kind with delivery. Our women have asked for more information to help them feel confident should they require intervention of some kind. With acknowledgement of the Montgomery ruling in 2015, we are trialling a process of information provision based on our service evaluation findings to determine if we can positively influence women's birth experiences regardless of how they ultimately deliver.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
20/NS/0078
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion