PIF publishes Maternity Decisions: Being Induced report
A PIF survey of more than 2,000 women in the UK has found many lacked enough information to make an informed decision about induction of labour.
One in three pregnancies are induced in Great Britain and new NICE guidelines on induction acknowledge that rates may continue to rise.
In August 2021, PIF conducted an online survey into women’s experiences of being induced in collaboration with maternity charities including Tommy’s, Bliss and Birthrights.
In less than a fortnight, 2,325 women responded, providing more than 6,300 free text comments.
The sobering results show that there is much to do to put personalised care and shared decision making into practice in maternity care.
Key findings
- Women rank fear of induction as second biggest birth concern
- Half do not feel they had enough information to make an informed choice
- Women want statistics on risks, benefits and alternatives
- Some women describe feeling ‘coerced’, ‘harassed’ or ‘bullied’
- Fear of induction was the second biggest birth concern, second only to the fear that something might happen to their baby
- Two-fifths felt the information they were given about induction was not detailed enough
- More than half only received verbal information
- Two-thirds were not given enough detail on risks and benefits to make an informed decision
- Two thirds of the survey respondents reported that they did not have supportive conversations with HCPs
CPOC Patient Representative Lawrence Mudford said:
"Shared decision making is at the heart of what person-centred care is all about. This recent survey has found many were left feeling disempowered and unheard by a lack of evidence-based information on induction of labour. This is an important reminder that Maternity services are a vital part of the whole Perioperative Care Process."
