​'Informing and Consenting
​~ What does Informed Consent mean for women and their support people?'

11:00am Saturday 23rd March

What does Informed Consent really mean? By unpicking the meaning of this term (and its limitations), we can get a better understanding of how and why women sometimes feel marginalised in decision making about their care, and what we can do about it. When women and their maternity care providers disagree about decisions, respectful woman-centred care may be tested, and conflict between women and maternity care providers, as well as amongst maternity care providers, is well documented. However, the requirement to obtain informed consent (and by extension, the right to withhold consent or decline treatment) is the law’s best attempt at protecting the right to autonomy. Coercion invalidates consent, but the line between respectful information giving and persuasion may be difficult to locate with certainty. This presentation will offer practice strategies for how can women and their support people navigate this space.  

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About Dr Bec Jenkinson

Dr Bec Jenkinson is a critical friend of maternity services and has been active in maternity consumer representation and advocacy since the births of her three children (now 11, 9 and 6). Bec completed a PhD in 2017, examining women’s, midwives and obstetricians experiences of situations where pregnant women decline recommended care, and in particular processes that might enable respectful care. She is currently co-leading the developing of a Queensland Health guideline for clinicians partnering with women who decline recommended maternity care