Abstract
Background: The issue about whether a woman's autonomy in childbirth should include the choice of cesarean delivery in the absence of medical indications has become a major source of debate. Our objective was to examine factors that determined physicians' responses to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Methods: Surveys were distributed to all obstetrician-gynecologists in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area in Spring, 2000. Physicians were asked to respond to scenarios involving a term patient with a singleton pregnancy requesting primary cesarean delivery. Results: One hundred and seventy of 255 physicians (67%) responded, of whom 68 to 98 percent agreed to cesarean delivery in cases with clear medical indications. Without a clear medical indication, most practitioners would not perform a cesarean delivery. In cases where medical indications were unclear, responses were divided. Physician male gender and patient high socioeconomic status were associated with increased likelihood of physician agreement to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Age, years in practice, and practice type were not associated with agreement. Conclusions: Physicians are reluctant to agree to patient request for primary cesarean delivery without a clear medical indication. Male physicians were more likely to agree to a patient's request for cesarean delivery than female physicians.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 280-284 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Birth |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2004 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Nursing(all)
Cite this
Physicians' responses to patient-requested cesarean delivery. / Ghetti, Chiara; Chan, Benjamin K S; Guise, Jeanne-Marie.
In: Birth, Vol. 31, No. 4, 12.2004, p. 280-284.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Physicians' responses to patient-requested cesarean delivery
AU - Ghetti, Chiara
AU - Chan, Benjamin K S
AU - Guise, Jeanne-Marie
PY - 2004/12
Y1 - 2004/12
N2 - Background: The issue about whether a woman's autonomy in childbirth should include the choice of cesarean delivery in the absence of medical indications has become a major source of debate. Our objective was to examine factors that determined physicians' responses to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Methods: Surveys were distributed to all obstetrician-gynecologists in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area in Spring, 2000. Physicians were asked to respond to scenarios involving a term patient with a singleton pregnancy requesting primary cesarean delivery. Results: One hundred and seventy of 255 physicians (67%) responded, of whom 68 to 98 percent agreed to cesarean delivery in cases with clear medical indications. Without a clear medical indication, most practitioners would not perform a cesarean delivery. In cases where medical indications were unclear, responses were divided. Physician male gender and patient high socioeconomic status were associated with increased likelihood of physician agreement to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Age, years in practice, and practice type were not associated with agreement. Conclusions: Physicians are reluctant to agree to patient request for primary cesarean delivery without a clear medical indication. Male physicians were more likely to agree to a patient's request for cesarean delivery than female physicians.
AB - Background: The issue about whether a woman's autonomy in childbirth should include the choice of cesarean delivery in the absence of medical indications has become a major source of debate. Our objective was to examine factors that determined physicians' responses to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Methods: Surveys were distributed to all obstetrician-gynecologists in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area in Spring, 2000. Physicians were asked to respond to scenarios involving a term patient with a singleton pregnancy requesting primary cesarean delivery. Results: One hundred and seventy of 255 physicians (67%) responded, of whom 68 to 98 percent agreed to cesarean delivery in cases with clear medical indications. Without a clear medical indication, most practitioners would not perform a cesarean delivery. In cases where medical indications were unclear, responses were divided. Physician male gender and patient high socioeconomic status were associated with increased likelihood of physician agreement to patient-requested cesarean delivery. Age, years in practice, and practice type were not associated with agreement. Conclusions: Physicians are reluctant to agree to patient request for primary cesarean delivery without a clear medical indication. Male physicians were more likely to agree to a patient's request for cesarean delivery than female physicians.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.0730-7659.2004.00320.x
DO - 10.1111/j.0730-7659.2004.00320.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 15566340
AN - SCOPUS:16644388087
VL - 31
SP - 280
EP - 284
JO - Birth
JF - Birth
SN - 0730-7659
IS - 4
ER -