Hospital could face legal battle over refusing caesareans to some pregnant women

National pregnancy and childbirth charity Birthrights has raised concerns the policy, which as left some women feeling ‘bullied’ and ‘psychology scarred’, is in breach of health guidelines, and possibly also a breach of a patients’ human rights.

The charity claims the John Radcliffe Hospital has prompted more advice enquiries than any other hospital in the country and has asked Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) to clarify and review its policy, or face legal action.

OUH has however previously defended the policy claiming it follows guidelines set out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

However, one woman from the Bicester area said she was left ‘psychologically scarred’ after the hospital refused her a c-section despite her suffering from a spinal condition and pelvic problems.

The young mother said at 38 weeks she was left without a birthing plan and forced to seek care at a London hospital after OUH eventually ‘refused to treat her’.

She told the Oxford Times: “Even though I had a very good medical reason they told me I didn’t need a c-section.

“I know my body better than they do and I knew it wasn’t going to be safe to deliver my baby naturally.”

She gave birth via an emergency c-section three days after referring to the hospital in London.

The woman added: “I was basically being bullied and forced into an induction I didn’t want.”

“There’s a real problem around Maternal Request Caesareans (MRCs).

“They aren’t something a woman asks for because she doesn’t feel like going through a natural birth.

“People think it’s a case of being ‘too posh to push’ but no woman wants to be cut open - what we want is what’s best for our babies.”

Another young mother from Didcot was forced to undergo a ‘traumatic’ natural birth after JR doctors denied her a c-section in 2017, despite suffering from hip problems.

She said: “They just point blank said no - there was no explanation.”

During the birth she said her hips were put in a ‘painful position that they should not be in’ causing her daughter to become ‘stuck’.

She added: “My daughter became so distressed to the point she actually stopped breathing, it still affects me to this day.”

The latest figures available, for April, show that OUH performed 140 c-sections in total, with half classified as elective.

NICE guidelines say trusts should discuss MRCs with expectant mothers and ultimately offer a c-section if a natural birth is not not an ‘acceptable option’.

Trusts can offer c-sections for certain medical reasons, for example if the baby is in the wrong position or if the mother has high blood pressure.

Doctors unwilling to perform the operation must refer the patient to an obstetrician who will, the guidelines state.

However, this week Birthrights published a wider report revealing a ‘postcode lottery’ for women who want the procedure, with some hospitals openly offering caesareans at the mother’s request while some refuse them outright.

Many of Oxford’s surrounding trusts have similar policies to that of the JR, leaving women wanting MRCs with little option.

Birthrights chief executive, Rebecca Schiller, said the charity had been trying to engage with OUH since May 2017 with no satisfactory response.

She said: “The trust did not even reply to correspondence sharing the distressing stories of women who have suffered (at their approach to the issue).

“We hope that the trust and its legal team will review their policy in light of our research.

“Our lawyers await urgent clarification from the trust on a number of questions.

“We hope we can resolve this without using legal tools, but Birthrights is committed to challenging unlawful maternity care and, if necessary, will consider litigation.”

OUH spokesperson Natalie Ellis said: “The trust is responding to a number of questions raised with it, via Birthrights’ legal advisers, and has nothing further to add at this time.”