D03-a Maternal Request for Primary Cesarean Delivery: Ethical Considerations

Purpose:

The prevalence of maternal request for primary cesarean delivery without medical indication (MRCD) approaches 31% in Canadian cities. HCPs face ethical challenges balancing patients’ right to choose versus the risks of possible intra- and post-operative complications for mothers/infants, and allocation of health care resources. We were interested in the ethical tensions that surround MRCD. To what extent does informed choice and the right to treatment challenge HCPs ethics and beneficence? While MRCD is mother focused what perspective do the HCPs provide-clinical, personal or systemic?

Learning Objectives:

1. The participant will be able to discuss some ethics involved in maternal request for primary cesarean section.

2. The participant will challenge their own beliefs and practice regarding maternal request for primary cesarean section.

3. Following this session the participant will be able to better understand women's need to request cesarean delivery and how health care providers react.

Presenter:

Cynthia Mannion, RN, BA, MSc(A), PhD, Associate Professor, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

D03-b When Fear Surrounding Childbirth Leads Women to Seek a Planned Cesarean

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to explore women's experiences of fear surrounding childbirth in relation to their decision to request a planned caesarean birth.

Learning Objectives:

Following this session, participants will be able to:

1. Briefly discuss relevant literature related to fear and childbirth.

2. Discuss women's fears surrounding childbirth in relation to their decision to request a planned cesarean birth.

3. Identify implications for practice and research, related to study findings.

Presenters:

Janet Bryanton, RN, PhD, PNC(C), Associate Professor, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada