RESUMO
The worldwide cerebral palsy (CP) litigation crisis is predicated on the hoax that electronic foetal monitoring (EFM) predicts and prevents CP. There are decades of research disproving this hoax, yet EFM continues to be performed in the vast majority of labours in developed countries with resultant harm to mothers and babies alike through unnecessary caesarean sections with all of the attendant complications and ramifications of that procedure. This article reviews the history and evolution of EFM, explores the reasons for its misuse, discusses how obstetricians have abandoned their ethical mandate by failing to obtain informed consent for EFM, and proposes a realistic, practical solution that would effectively change the standard of care.
Assuntos
Cardiotocografia , Paralisia Cerebral , Ética Médica , Monitorização Fetal , Imperícia , Bioética , Cardiotocografia/ética , Cesárea , Enganação , Feminino , Monitorização Fetal/efeitos adversos , Humanos , Lactente , Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido , GravidezRESUMO
As Catholic-owned hospitals merge with or take over other facilities, they impose restrictions on reproductive health services, including abortion and contraceptive services. Our interviews with US obstetrician-gynecologists working in Catholic-owned hospitals revealed that they are also restricted in managing miscarriages. Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees denied approval of uterine evacuation while fetal heart tones were still present, forcing physicians to delay care or transport miscarrying patients to non-Catholic-owned facilities. Some physicians intentionally violated protocol because they felt patient safety was compromised. Although Catholic doctrine officially deems abortion permissible to preserve the life of the woman, Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees differ in their interpretation of how much health risk constitutes a threat to a woman's life and therefore how much risk must be present before they approve the intervention.
