How ‘judgmental’ hospitals deny caesareans to mothers
‘Lack of respect for patient dignity’
THREE quarters of maternity units are denying women their right to choose a caesarean, a charity has warned.
Health watchdog guidelines state women should be allowed to opt for a planned c-section.
But a report by childbirth charity Birthrights found that only 26 per cent of trusts were abiding by the guidelines and 15 per cent of the 146 which responded admitted refusing elective caesareans.
Chief executive Rebecca Schiller said: ‘ It is clear that women requesting caesarean sections meet judgmental attitudes, barriers and disrespect more often than they find compassion and support. We are concerned that this lack of respect for patient dignity could have profound negative consequences for the emotional and physical safety for women.’
More than a quarter of all babies born in England are now delivered by either elective or emergency caesarean. Yet many women were found to face delays and difficulties in requesting a caesarean on non- medical grounds, its research found.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trusts had inconsistent or confusing policies on it, the results of a nationwide Freedom of Information Act request showed. The charity raised concerns that women who have previously had traumatic births may struggle to access the care they need.
It said the reasons women gave for wanting caesareans included mental ill-health, childhood sexual abuse, or having made an informed decision after speaking to health professionals.
The data revealed 28 per cent of women requesting a caesarean did so because they had an underlying health problem, such as pelvic pain, that did not meet the medical threshold for requiring the procedure. Many women who requested a caesarean were told to go elsewhere.
Birthrights’ programmes director, Maria Booker, said the charity had received a number of complaints about disrespectful treatment at hospitals.
She said: ‘Trusts are bound by human rights duties to offer individualised care.
‘Any statement or policy from a trust that caesarean would only be granted on medical grounds may be incompatible with trusts’ obligations to have an open, supportive, two-way discussion that explores all reasonable options.’
She added that any policy applied in a blanket way may be incompatible with human rights law. Gill Walton, of the Royal College of Midwives said: ‘Women must be given the information to explore their views and feelings about caesarean birth, to enable them to come to an informed decision about their preferred type of birth. This information should reflect the individual woman’s current and previous medical, obstetric and psychological history.’
The Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘It is vital women feel informed and supported in making safe choices around childbirth and we expect doctors and other NHS staff to work closely with mums-to-be to make sure they are given the right options where appropriate.’