Why Informed Consent Matters in Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
When you're pregnant or navigating the postpartum season, you're faced with a lot of decisions. Some feel small, others life-changing—but they all deserve your full understanding and true choice. That’s where informed consent comes in.
As a mother, you have every right to understand what’s happening to your body and to make the final call on your care. Too often, women are rushed, dismissed, or pressured into medical choices they don’t fully understand. Whether you’re giving birth in a hospital, at home, or in a birth center, informed consent is a powerful tool that protects your autonomy and your well-being.
What Is Informed Consent?
Informed consent is not signing a blanket liability form or nodding along while someone talks. It’s about you receiving clear, understandable information and making a decision that you are comfortable with based on the information you have and what choice you feel is best.
That includes:
What the proposed procedure or medication is
Why it’s being recommended
What the risks and benefits are (for both you and your baby)
What alternatives are available—including doing nothing
What could happen if you choose to decline
And here’s the part that often gets skipped: You must be given time to ask questions and freedom to say no without being guilted, coerced, or scared into it.
What Are Providers Legally Required to Do?
When giving informed consent your doctor, midwife, or nurse is legally and ethically required to:
Speak in a way you understand (no medical jargon unless they explain it)
Make sure you know your options
Allow time for questions and decision-making (except in true emergencies)
Respect your final decision—even if they disagree
Document your consent (or refusal) clearly in your medical chart
You are also entitled to receive a second opinion. Unfortunately, informed consent isn’t always practiced the way it should be. Some women are made to feel like they have no choice, especially during labor when things move quickly and emotions run high. That’s why it’s so important to have someone in your corner.
How a Doula Can Help Protect Your Right to Informed Consent
A doula is not a medical provider, but she is a trained educator, and emotional support person who knows how the system works— she can help you advocate for yourself and give you guidance (and reinforcement) on how to make sure your voice is heard and your choices are respected.
Here’s how a birth or postpartum doula can help:
Prepares you in advance: Doulas help you learn your options before labor starts so you’re not caught off guard. They are available to direct you to evidenced based information on a variety of procedures that may be recommended in birth or early postpartum.
Coaches you on questions to ask: What are the benefits? What are the risks? What are my alternatives?
Gives you space to think: In the moment, a doula can remind you that you can take a minute—breathe, ask questions, and decide on your terms. She can stop the conversation and say “Do you need some time to think about this?” or suggest “Let’s take 10 minutes - we can all step out of the room and allow you and your partner some time to process before making a decision.”
Helps interpret medical language: Doulas can explain common procedures in everyday language so you can make a real, informed choice. While this is technically the providers job, as already mentioned they may rush through these conversations so your doula can continue to help you process and understand.
Supports your decisions: Whatever decision you make, your doula is there to support what you decide is best for your body and your baby.
You’re the One Giving Birth
This is your body. Your birth. Your baby. You deserve to feel confident, respected, and in control—not pushed into decisions because someone else says it’s "just how things are done."
Doulas help women protect their space, use their voice, and walk away from birth feeling proud of their decisions.
Looking for a Birth or Postpartum Doula?
Our team at National Baby Co. provides unbiased, supportive, and experienced doula care. We serve all of Southern California, Portland, Detroit, Knoxville, and beyond.
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