The form is complete.
Her name is correct.
The physician signed it.
The risks are listed.
The date and time are present.
Legally and administratively, everything may look excellent.
There is only one problem.
The patient may still not understand what she agreed to.
That is not a paperwork problem.
It is an informed consent problem.
Consent and Informed Consent Are Not the Same Thing
A signature proves remarkably little.
It proves that a person signed something.
It does not prove that she understood the probability of success.
It does not prove that she understood the alternatives.
It does not prove that she understood the consequences of declining treatment.
It does not prove that the clinician explained the information in a way she could understand.
ACOG’s guidance is clear that valid informed consent requires more than disclosure. The patient must receive adequate, accurate, understandable information and be able to understand and reason through it while making an intentional and voluntary choice. [1]
That is a much higher standard than obtaining a signature.
Obstetrics Makes Consent Especially Difficult
Consent becomes harder when decisions occur during labor.
