Ethical and medico-legal issues

Barkham, Miranda; Peters, Gordon; Pace, Nick

doi:10.1383/wohm.2005.2.4.1

Next »Women's Health Medicine
Volume 2, Issue 4 , Pages 1-3, July 2005

Ethical and medico-legal issues

Miranda Barkham
- Miranda Barkham is a Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia, based at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. She graduated from Aberdeen University and did her initial training in Ayrshire.
Gordon Peters
- Gordon Peters is a Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia, based at Stirling Royal Infirmary. He graduated from Edinburgh University and trained initially in general medicine, prior to pursuing a career in anaesthesia.
Nick Pace
- Nick Pace is Consultant Anaesthetist at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. He qualified from Glasgow University and trained at the Western and Royal Infirmaries, Glasgow; University Hospital of South Wales; and Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Texas. He is a past member of the British Transplant Society’s Ethics Committee and has a PhD in medical law.

Abstract

In obstetric anaesthetic practice, ethical and medico-legal problems revolve mainly around the ability of a woman in labour to give truly informed consent and the potential conflict between the best interests of the fetus and the mother. This contribution considers whether a woman in labour can be ‘competent’, the validity of birth plans, issues concerning information, maternal-fetal conflict and negligence claims.

Keywords: childbirth , pain relief , anaesthesia , birth plans , competence , consent , information , negligence , post-dural puncture headache