Birth fear key to caesareans
Monday October 17th, 2011
A new drive to reduce caesarean section rates is in danger from the wrong kind of counselling, experts said today.
Recent
UK guidelines have advised that women who say they are afraid of going
into labour may need specialist mental health support.
But experts today say these women will not be identified by the current approach - which concentrates on advising women of the risks and benefits of a caesarean operation.
According to Dr Vivek Nama, of St George's University of London, counselling needs to explore the reasons a woman is requesting the procedure.
The fear of childbirth is known as tokophobia and Dr Nama advises "frequent, regular psychotherapy" to address the problem.
Writing in The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr Nama says health workers also need to give women detailed information about the risks of childbirth - such as the proportion of births in local maternity units that need intervention.
Dr Nama said: "The current approach is to discuss the risks and benefits of caesarean section, however, counselling should move away from discussing the risks to addressing the reasons for a request.
"Women with a fear of childbirth have serious concerns about birth and related issues and exploring their fears, together with counselling, has been shown to alleviate them."
Caesarean section on maternal request: is justification necessary? Nama V, Wilcock F. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist October 16 2011;13:263-269.
Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | NHS | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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