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The Role of the Legal System in the Cesarean Childbirth Controversy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2021

Judy Miller
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Extract

The threefold increase in the cesarean birth rate in the United States during the last ten years has caused much concern among the general public and some medical professionals. Nurses particularly have shared this concern as the scope of nursing practice has expanded and nurses increasingly see themselves as patient advocates. Obviously, not all cesarean births are unwarranted. The procedure may be indicated if there is maternal or fetal risk during labor, if attempted induction of labor fails, and/or if an emergency mandates immediate delivery which is not possible or suitable vaginally.

A recent review of over 1,000 U.S. and foreign research articles cites three general reasons for the increasing cesarean birth rate: use of the operation for breech presentations and for repeat sections; the need for early intervention due to fetal distress as determined by the increasing use of fetal monitoring; and physicians' fear of malpractice suits. The first two reasons are matters of medical controversy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Nursing Law & Ethics , Volume 1 , Issue 10 , December 1980 , pp. 1 - 8
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1980

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