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CORRESPONDENCE| Volume 20, ISSUE 3, P269-270, July 2011

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The capacity to consent to epidural analgesia in labour

      There has been much discussion about consent for labour epidurals
      • White S.M.
      • Baldwin T.J.
      Consent for anaesthesia.
      and the appropriate amount of information women require.
      • Bethune L.
      • Harper N.
      • Lucas D.N.
      • et al.
      Complications of obstetric regional analgesia: how much information is enough?.
      • Pattee C.
      • Ballantyne M.
      • Milne B.
      Epidural analgesia for labour and delivery: informed consent issues.
      • Jackson A.
      • Henry R.
      • Avery N.
      • VanDenKerkhof E.
      • Milne B.
      Informed consent for labor epidurals: what laboring women want to know.
      • Saunders T.A.
      • Stein D.J.
      • Dilger J.P.
      Informed consent for labor epidurals: a survey of Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology anesthesiologists from the United States.
      • Black J.D.
      • Cyna A.M.
      Issues of consent for regional analgesia in labour: a survey of obstetric anaesthetists.
      However, women’s capacity to give consent in labour attracts less attention. We investigated women’s views on their capacity to consent during labour with reference to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA)

      Mental Capacity Act c.9. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents; 2005; [accessed 4 October 2010].

      in England and Wales, specifically the statement that to give consent, a person must be able to: (1) understand the information relevant to the decision; (2) retain that information; (3) use or weigh that information as part of the decision making process; and (4) communicate that decision.
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      References

        • White S.M.
        • Baldwin T.J.
        Consent for anaesthesia.
        Anaesthesia. 2003; 58: 760-774
        • Bethune L.
        • Harper N.
        • Lucas D.N.
        • et al.
        Complications of obstetric regional analgesia: how much information is enough?.
        Int J Obstet Anesth. 2004; 13: 30-34
        • Pattee C.
        • Ballantyne M.
        • Milne B.
        Epidural analgesia for labour and delivery: informed consent issues.
        Can J Anaesth. 1997; 44: 918-923
        • Jackson A.
        • Henry R.
        • Avery N.
        • VanDenKerkhof E.
        • Milne B.
        Informed consent for labor epidurals: what laboring women want to know.
        Can J Anesth. 2000; 47: 1068-1073
        • Saunders T.A.
        • Stein D.J.
        • Dilger J.P.
        Informed consent for labor epidurals: a survey of Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology anesthesiologists from the United States.
        Int J Obstet Anesth. 2006; 15: 98-103
        • Black J.D.
        • Cyna A.M.
        Issues of consent for regional analgesia in labour: a survey of obstetric anaesthetists.
        Anaesth Intensive Care. 2006; 34: 254-260
      1. Mental Capacity Act c.9. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents; 2005; [accessed 4 October 2010].

      2. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Obtaining valid consent (clinical governance advice 6). Available from: http://www.rcog.org.uk/files/rcog-corp/CGA6-15072010.pdf; 2008; [accessed 4 October 2010].