title: Choice, autonomy, and childbirth education.
abstract: In this column, a reader challenges the idea that choice in childbirth is a myth. The ways in which women's choices in childbirth are undermined are explored. The relationship between choice, autonomy, and decision-making is discussed. Autonomy is considered as a foundation for decision-making and an important way to make birth safer for mothers and babies. Strategies for increasing autonomy within the framework of childbirth education are presented.
authors.affiliation: JUDITH LOTHIAN is a childbirth educator in Brooklyn, New York, a member of the Lamaze International Board of Directors, and the associate editor of the Journal of Perinatal Education. She is also an associate professor in the College of Nursing at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lothian