title: Maternal autonomy on health in a community as assessed by signing of consent for caesarean section and its sociodemographic correlates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the level of maternal autonomy in a Nigerian community using maternal preference to sign the consent for caesarean section as the assessment tool and to evaluate the sociodemographic and obstetric correlates.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey of parturients 2-5 days after caesarean delivery in a tertiary health facility in Benin City, Nigeria using a pretested interviewer administered questionnaire to obtain information on whom they would prefer to sign the consent form for caesarean section.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 197 parturients were interviewed. The consent form was signed by 177 (90%) of the respondents. However, 96 (48.7%) preferred their spouses to sign. Maternal attainment of tertiary level education and a higher mean maternal age was significantly associated with maternal preference to sign the consent form.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The level of maternal autonomy on reproductive health issues based on this simple survey is less than satisfactory. However, this study has provided baseline data for surveillance and follow-up studies of this important variable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. drehigha@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ehigha
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Enabudoso
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Igbarumah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009549:Nigeria; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D020458:Third-Party Consent; D016387:Women's Health