“ Even when a medical intervention is wanted or needed , the inclusion of women in making decisions about the care they receive is important to ensure that they meet their goal of a positive childbirth experience .” Ian Askew , WHO Director Department of Reproductive Health and Research .
The birth climate is complicated and you may not start to learn about that until you are too far into the system or until you go home wondering what just happened to you . The reason this is so important is because if you do not receive the basic informed consent fundamentals followed by medical professionals your experience will be tarnished and here is a truth bomb for you ladies – you will always remember how you were made to feel . Did you feel powerful or powerless ? It is daunting at times and there is so much going on but you should at all times feel in control and ultimately cared for . While hospitals will always have systems , checks and controls in place it should always remain an informed choice for you to make . So how do you make an informed choice ? You need information .
The information you should be given is : A diagnosis and description of the situation including the risks and benefits of each course of action that might include their first recommended treatment or procedure , an option of alternative treatment or procedure and thirdly if you continued without taking these options and chose no intervention . It is not considered to be informed consent if your caregiver has not covered these points yet follows through with a procedure without your consent , or has asked or demanded that you agree to a treatment before having all available information .
If you are not given this level of information freely here are some tips on getting it .
Firstly know your rights , you do not have to agree to any non-emergency procedure without being given full information and you have the right to change your mind at any time . Ask for more time to make a decision without medical staff present . If people aren ’ t running around pushing emergency buttons then you have time to make an informed decision . If your caregiver is pushing for a procedure and says there is an increased risk of a poor outcomes if you do nothing , ask for the statistics . Secondly ask questions like ; What are the benefits ? What are the risks ? What are the alternatives ? What happens if I do nothing ? The most important question of all is what do I want to do ? You can always ask for another opinion if you are not satisfied with the information you have been given or simply say ‘ I do not consent ’. So what happens if I refuse ? You have the right to refuse any procedure or treatment and withdraw consent originally given , and your decision must be respected . It is your decision who you involve in your decision making process , whether that is your partner , doula or family and friends . If you decline the care or advice of your caregiver , you should not be abandoned because of your choice . You may be asked to sign a refusal of treatment certificate acknowledging that you are taking responsibility for your decisions . This doesn ’ t mean you have made a bad choice but an informed and empowered choice and are willing to own the outcome of that . Now that is a powerful .
Choosing your birth team with care and knowing who will advocate for the type of birth you want will provide an environment more conducive to the outcome you are wanting . Meet with doulas , private midwives , natural practitioners , obstetricians before making your final choice . Treat these meetings like an interview and make it known how you would like to birth and the options you would like to have available to you . Remember you are picking your dream team of birth empowerment .
At the end of the day this is your experience , you go home with your baby and will reflect on every aspect of your journey . How do you want to feel when you think about your experience ?
I have also prepared a checklist with some empowering questions you might ask in certain scenarios . Please check it out at www . theseedcollective . com . au
Jenna Logan is a pregnancy and postnatal doula , placenta specialist , mother to two little ones and director of The Seed Collective – a place to go to get all the info you need on how to have an empowered and healthy pregnancy and beyond .
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APRIL / MAY – ISSUE 93 35