Pregnant women autonomy when choosing their method of childbirth: Scoping review

Autores da FMUP

• Rui Manuel Lopes Nunes

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Silva, Carlos Henrique Mascarenhas
• Laranjeira, Claudia Lourdes Soares
• Pinheiro, Wallisson Fonseca
• de Melo, Carolina Soares Barros
• Silva, Vitor de Oliveira Campos
• Brandao, Augusto Henrique Fulgencio
• Rego, Francisca

Unidades de investigação

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

This paper has as its theme the autonomy of pregnant women in relation to choosing the method of birth for their child. The objective was to carry out a scoping review to study the literature and evidence of how autonomy is being offered to parturient women. Study design and location: In October 2023, a search was carried out using the terms ``pregnant women'' AND ``delivery'' AND ``autonomy'' in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Scielo and LILACS. The search included articles from 2016 to 2023. Of the 179 articles found, 15 met the criteria and were selected for this review. Results: the pregnant woman's autonomy in choosing the method of childbirth is influenced by several factors, such as the obstetrician's recommendation, the medical team, and negative and positive experiences. Thus, when this autonomy is shared with the obstetrician, the obstetrician recommends cesarean section as the safest route, but does not explain the benefits and harms of both routes (vaginal and cesarean section), causing the woman to accept the cesarean section. Midwives recommend vaginal birth because they believe it to be natural and safe and explain the benefits and harms of both methods, respecting the pregnant woman's choice of the method she prefers. Conclusion: women have the fundamental right to choose their method of birth and must be properly guided throughout prenatal care, whether by an obstetrician or a midwife, about the options, risks and benefits of each method of childbirth, respecting the ethical principle of beneficence.

Copyright: © 2024 Mascarenhas Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Keywords

• CESAREAN-SECTION; DELIVERY; RESPECT; RIGHTS