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Informed consent process before caesarean section: A study of patient’s perspective regarding adequacy of consent process

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Original Article

Author Details : Saswati Tripathy*, T Shubhashree, R Sajeetha Kumari, Satyajit Mohapatra

Volume : 7, Issue : 2, Year : 2020

Article Page : 239-242

https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijogr.2020.049

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Abstract

Aim: Informed consent is an ethical and legal requirement and is practiced before all the surgical
procedures. Cesarean section is the commonest obstetrics surgery and there is increased rate of C-section
due to better diagnosis and early referral. A legitimate consent should be taken from the patient or her
guardian before caesarean section. So this study was aimed to assess the adequacy of informed consent
process and the understanding of information obtained by the patient.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was done with patients aged more than 18 years and who
underwent elective or emergency caesarean section. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of
ninety three patients were included. A pretested and pre validated questionnaire was adopted for the study.
The data were analyzed and expressed as percentage of proportion.
Result: The average age of the participants was 26.11 3.97 years. About 70.96% of the participants
underwent emergency caesarean section and 29.07% underwent elective section. About 91.3% of
participants knew the necessity of the cesarean section, 94.62% were informed about the risk of surgery
and 95.6% were informed about the benefits of C-section. About 98.92% of participants didn’t know about
the type of anesthesia to be used and almost all patients were not informed about their right to refuse the
procedure.
Conclusion: The patients were well informed about the procedure, the risks and benefits involved in
C-section. Still some elements of consent process needs to be improved which can be done by proper
awareness and training of the health care professionals.

Keywords: Informed consent, Caesarean section, Questionnaire.

How to cite : Tripathy S , Shubhashree T , Kumari R S, Mohapatra S , Informed consent process before caesarean section: A study of patient’s perspective regarding adequacy of consent process. Indian J Obstet Gynecol Res 2020;7(2):239-242

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