[How to respond to a stubborn refusal of care during delivery]

Abstract

Our team was confronted with a situation of stubborn refusal of care, including the indication of a cesarean section for an adult patient able to express her wishes. This refusal was formulated during pregnancy follow-up, during the discussion of the birth plan and during delivery, the patient having accepted the indication of a possible emergency cesarean section under general anesthesia only in the occurrence of severe fetal heart rate abnormalities. The impasse forced caregivers to violate the rules of good clinical practice, which indicated the performance of a cesarean section, and to wait for a complication to arise in order to be able to act, taking the risk of intervening too late. This situation has led to direct risks to the health of the mother and the unborn child, without putting the life of either of them in imminent danger. Finally, the time devoted to this patient in a tense organization was to the detriment of the care of other patients.

Keywords: Accouchement; Cesarean delivery; Césarienne; Delivery; Grossesse; Medicolegal; Médicolégal; Pregnancy; Refus de soins; Refusal of care.