Perceptions of risk: How they influence women's and health professionals' choices

Abstract

The need to ensure the survival of the species by offering pregnant and labouring women special protection has been expressed in primitive human societies through elaborate rituals and superstitions, and in contemporary society, through the provision of antenatal and intrapartum care by health professionals. Modern maternity services tend to highlight the medical risks of pregnancy and birth. Women, however, may place such risks in a broader context which includes risks to their emotional wellbeing and therefore, to their capacity to bond with their baby. Given current understanding of the importance of the first 1000 days of a baby's life, women's desire to have a labour that does not jeopardise this early relationship, is entirely logical. While both health professionals and women are dedicated to ensuring the safety of mother and baby, their definitions of ‘risk’ may sometimes lead to women's decision-making being contested and the need for ‘negotiation of disagreement’