FUNDING has been secured for a new research project which will explore women’s experiences within Ireland’s maternity care services.
Research Ireland’s Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges (COALESCE) programme will support the new CONTENT Study (Consent for Medically Indicated Interventions in Childbirth) which will investigate consent to medical treatment in Irish maternity care.
The project is being undertaken by Andrea Mulligan, from the School of Law, and Joan Lalor, of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, at Trinity College Dublin.
“The objective of this project is to investigate the divergence between the legal requirements for consent to birth interventions and the reality of consent practices in Irish maternity services,” Ms Mulligan said.
"The overarching research question is: are the legal requirements for informed and voluntary consent to birth interventions being met in Irish maternity practice?," she explained.
“Ultimately, the project aims to deliver evidence-based outputs to improve consent practices.”
The research team, which consists of two lawyers, a midwife, an obstetrician and an ethicist, will investigate whether the legal principles that govern consent to treatment are applied in practice in Irish maternity care.
The team will survey and interview women, obstetricians and midwives, to “examine the extent to which the legal requirements for provision of consent are being followed for women in childbirth”, a TCD spokesperson explained.
The project aims to influence policy and practice in the area.
“Valid consent requires that a person is provided with all the information they need to make a decision and that the decision is truly voluntary, meaning that it is free from coercion of any kind," Prof. Lalor said.
“Negative interactions with caregivers during birth are associated with suboptimal outcomes,” she added.
"Ensuring informed consent is given is one way to minimise negative birth experiences and to reduce the incidence of traumatic births and childbirth-related post traumatic stress."
