What are women’s legal rights when it comes to choice in pregnancy and childbirth?

Diaz-Tello, Farah; Kumar-Hazard, Bashi

doi:10.4324/9780429489853-16

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…According to the four principles of biomedical ethics [ 37 , 38 ], treatments and interventions in medical settings can only be given with full and informed consent. The context of pregnancy and birth carries no legal exemption [ 39 ]. Recent research identifies that in the maternity sector in particular, this does not always occur [ 29 , 30 , 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The principle of informed consent protects women and birthing people’s rights to voluntary consent or refusal of any medical treatment, procedure, or intervention based on the provision of sufficient, evidence-based information to make a decision that reflects self-determination, autonomy, and control [ 39 , 45 ]. Our findings indicate that many women did not feel they had adequate information to make an informed decision relating to the method of fetal monitoring used throughout their labour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tending to the machine: The impact of intrapartum fetal surveillance on women in Australia

Fox,

Coddington,

Levett

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Qualitative research about women and birthing people’s experiences of fetal monitoring during labour and birth is scant. Labour and birth is often impacted by wearable or invasive monitoring devices, however, most published research about fetal monitoring is focused on the wellbeing of the fetus. This manuscript is derived from a larger mixed methods study, ‘WOmen’s Experiences of Monitoring Baby (The WOMB Study)’, aiming to increase understanding of the experiences of women and birthing people in Australia, of being monitored; and about the information they received about fetal monitoring devices during pregnancy. We constructed a national cross-sectional survey that was distributed via social media in May and June, 2022. Responses were received from 861 participants. As far as we are aware, this is the first survey of the experiences of women and birthing people of intrapartum fetal monitoring conducted in Australia. This paper comprises the analysis of the free text survey responses, using qualitative and inductive content analysis. Two categories were constructed, Tending to the machine, which explores participants’ perceptions of the way in which clinicians interacted with fetal monitoring technologies; and Impressions of the machine, which explores the direct impact of fetal monitoring devices upon the labour and birth experience of women and birthing people. The findings suggest that some clinicians need to reflect upon the information they provide to women and birthing people about monitoring. For example, freedom of movement is an important aspect of supporting the physiology of labour and managing pain. If freedom of movement is important, the physical restriction created by a wired cardiotocograph is inappropriate. Many participants noticed that clinicians focused their attention primarily on the technology. Prioritising the individual needs of the woman or birthing person is key to providing high quality woman-centred intrapartum care. Women should be provided with adequate information regarding the risks and benefits of different forms of fetal monitoring including how the form of monitoring might impact her labour experience.

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