DPhil students’ study highlights issues with consent for operative vaginal delivery

A new study led by Oxford DPhil students explores how women and birthing people experience the consent process for operative vaginal delivery (OVD) – an intervention used in around one in five first-time births in which instruments such as forceps or a vacuum are needed.

The quality assurance audit, published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, is based on survey responses from 88 NHS service users. It finds that two-thirds felt under-informed about OVD, and many wanted more information well before labour begins. A notable minority (11%) reported they agreed to procedures they did not fully understand.

The work is co-led by DPhil students Frances Hand (Faculty of Law) and Morganne Wilbourne (Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health), in collaboration with the Faculty of Law’s Professor Jonathan Herring and NHS consultant obstetricians and midwives.

This paper builds on a previous call to action published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, which argued that current consent practices for emergency obstetric interventions often rely on last-minute discussions in urgent, emotionally charged circumstances – and that enhancing information provision in advance could better support women’s autonomy and decision-making.

A third paper in the series will assess clinicians’ attitudes towards unplanned obstetric interventions and consent.