Article Text
Statistics from Altmetric.com
What ought to be the limits to maternal autonomy and choice when it comes to childbirth? And what risks are ethically acceptable, given that the life and health of both the baby and mother are sometimes at stake? These questions run through a number of articles in this month's issue. These articles all note that maternal choice regarding the place and method of childbirth has become significant in the relevant national guidelines, as well as in government policy documents.1 ,2 In principle at least, there is a current focus on women-centred care, which puts maternal decision-making at the forefront. This includes decisions on whether to have a homebirth (including unassisted birth), assisted midwife-led birth, or a hospital birth and on whether or not to have an elective caesarean section.
In the first of the articles dealing with childbirth, Lachlan de Crespigny and Julian Savulescu discuss whether homebirth is ethical given some of the potential risks which attend it (see page 807). Rather than examining those instances where maternal and/or neonatal death occurs, …
Linked Articles
- Student essay
- Clinical ethics
- Clinical ethics
- Clinical ethics
Other content recommended for you
- Unassisted childbirth: why mothers are leaving the system
- Homebirth and the Future Child
- Born before arrival in NSW, Australia (2000–2011): a linked population data study of incidence, location, associated factors and maternal and neonatal outcomes
- Rates of obstetric intervention and associated perinatal mortality and morbidity among low-risk women giving birth in private and public hospitals in NSW (2000–2008): a linked data population-based cohort study
- Exploring the conceptualisation and study of freebirthing as a historical and social phenomenon: a meta-narrative review of diverse research traditions
- Maternity service reconfigurations for intrapartum and postnatal midwifery staffing shortages: modelling of low-risk births in England
- Association between home birth and breast feeding outcomes: a cross-sectional study in 28 125 mother–infant pairs from Ireland and the UK
- What women want if they were to have another baby: the Australian Birth Experience Study (BESt) cross-sectional national survey
- Risk factors and between-hospital variation of caesarean section in Denmark: a cohort study
- Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America