This is the first edition of this guidance. This paper provides additional advice for clinicians in obtaining consent of a woman to undergo caesarean section in the specific circumstance of current pregnancy with placenta praevia with or without previous caesarean section. It is designed to be used in conjunction with Consent Advice No.7: Caesarean section.
The aim of this paper is to highlight the additional and specific consequences of caesarean section performed in the presence of placenta praevia. The information should, where possible, be provided during the antenatal period in the form of an information sheet to allow the woman to understand the situation and provide ample opportunities for her to ask any questions she may have and to antenatally meet providers of additional services that may become necessary, such as interventional radiologists.
Depending on local clinical governance arrangements, an additional consent form may be used with the additional risks highlighted, or the additional risks may be incorporated in a specific consent form for the whole procedure.
This paper can be downloaded as a pdf file below:
