C Section – Questioning Your Caregiver
During pregnancy you will be having conversations with your caregiver about delivery options which may include elective c-section. I’ve had friends tell me they were asked outright if they wanted to set a date for cesarean delivery on their first meeting with their caregiver.
When any form of medical procedure including medication, a test, or a form of treatment is offered to you, you are entitled to "informed consent". This is a legal right which means your caregiver has a responsibility to explain; reason this type of care is being offered; exactly what it will involve; all the risks and associated benefits of this type of care; potential alternatives and their risks and benefits. You are also entitled to request a copy of your medical records and to ask for a second opinion.
It is also your legal right to accept or not accept the care that is offered. Should you choose to not except this is called an ‘informed refusal’. It is a good idea to go over your options in this way with your caregiver during your pregnancy. Equally your caregiver has rights too, for example if you requested a c-section without any medical need for it your caregiver has the right to refuse to carry out your wish.
Most of us are conditioned to see those in the medical profession as authority figures and to
simply accept what it is that they tell us. It is a good idea then to make a list of questions before you meet with them and to make notes of their responses. When you are with them it is important to feel okay to ask further questions, ask for clarification, and explanations, to ask for sources of information, and the sources for research that support their recommendation.
It’s also important that you don’t feel pressured into making a decision before you’re ready and it’s perfectly acceptable to have more time, and to even get a second opinion if you feel uncomfortable with what is being recommended. The bottom line is if you have questions ask them I keep asking until you get the answers you need.
Some questions to consider asking are your caregivers feelings and past history with a) epidurals b) inducing labor c) episiotomies (surgical cut to enlarge the vaginal opening) d) slow or stalled labor e)continuous electronic fetal monitoring CEFM f) labor support from partner, doula etc.
These are all issues to be familiar with yourself and to consider what you ideally would like to happen. We can’t control how the birth will go, but we can create the circumstances that will give us the best opportunity for what we want to be what happens.
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