A new trial aiming to determine how effective ‘decision aids’ are for pregnant women when making choices about their birthing plans is set to launch in Scotland.
As part of the trial, which will be led by the University of Aberdeen, researchers will develop a decision aid that will look to inform and guide patient-doctor discussions during their various pregnancy appointments, primarily aiming to help women make an informed choice between vaginal and caesarean birth.
Despite decision aids being relatively commonplace in healthcare settings, especially in oncology, no such aid exists for pregnant women to help them determine the best course of action.
In view of this, researchers will look to identify which outcomes of vaginal or caesarean birth are important to know beforehand, by seeking out and surveying pregnant women, parents, and health professionals.
The results of said survey will then help the development of a prototype decision aid that will be trialled in five UK maternity units.
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the last decade, has stated that the pros and cons of both vaginal and caesarean births should be thoroughly discussed with women during their pregnancies – despite this, maternity services reported a £2bn compensation bill in 2018/19, citing a lack of informed consent and failures to offer a caesarean birth as key factors.
Dr Mairead Black, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, who is leading the research team, said: “This is an important piece of work because it addresses a substantial gap in routine antenatal care in the UK at present.
“This work recognises that women, including those who do not identify as women, who are pregnant, should be the primary decision makers in their birth planning. It will help both maternity staff and those planning their birth by providing balanced information about the options of planning a vaginal or caesarean birth. It will support them to choose the option that fits best in the circumstances of the individual woman or family.
“By working with members of the public, maternity staff and childbirth-related charities, we will develop a tool to help women decide between planning a vaginal or caesarean birth in routine antenatal care.
“We will also outline how the tool can best be embedded within routine NHS maternity care. Working alongside the NHS Maternity Transformation Programme, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, we ultimately aim to ensure that the final tool is accessible to all who would benefit from its use."
The study is being funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research – more information about the trial is available here.
