Women's role and satisfaction in the decision to have a caesarean section

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Abstract
Objective To examine women's role in the decision to perform caesarean section (CS). Design Cross‐sectional survey. Written questionnaires were completed seven weeks after giving birth by CS. Setting An obstetric tertiary referral hospital (Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia), July to December 1996. Participants A consecutive sample of women who underwent CS over a six‐month period. To be eligible, women had to be at least 18 years old, able to complete a questionnaire in English and well enough to consent to study participation. Main outcome measures Women's involvement in decision making, stated preference for CS, and satisfaction with obstetric care. Results 278 women (76.4%) returned questionnaires: Conclusions It is of concern that over a third of women felt they had not been involved in the decision to have a CS; others were very positive about CS, but an appreciable proportion may not have received sufficient information. A broad‐based strategy of providing more information to women and their partners could be one way of ensuring appropriate CS rates and should be tested in a randomised controlled trial.

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