Caesarean section for maternal choice: boundaries between self-determination and risk

Italian Law No. 219/ 2017 regarding informed consent and advance directi- ves, contributed to identifying the boundaries between competence, profes- sional autonomy and responsibility of the physician and the decisional auto- nomy of the patient. When a woman requests to have a cesarean delivery without medical indication, the decision-making process requires: the clinical assessment of the physician – who is responsible for identifying and propo- sing health treatments, and for adequately informing the patient – and the identification of the reasons that are contributing to the patient’s request, in order to reconcile both perspectives in favor of protecting the best interest – not merely clinical – of the patient.

Keywords: cesarean delivery; professional autonomy; female autonomy.