title: Cesarean section on maternal request: should it be formally prohibited in Italy?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cesarean section on maternal request (CSMR) could represent an avoidable quota of cesareans. In Italy, this is a topical problem of health-policy, involving ethical, juridical and medical issues.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  A 5-questions questionnaire to quantitatively assess the perspectives of medical, juridical and ethical issues of planned CSMR was administered to obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives, lawyers and pregnant women. It was assessed to what extent those issues matter on the final decision of planning a CSMR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Non-homogeneous answers of stakeholders suggest different perspectives about issues on CSMR. The juridical issue seems to have the greatest impact on the final decision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Planning a CSMR associates overall with juridical issues in each group of respondents. Therefore, an obstetrician and gynecologist is unable to counsel a patient on CSMR from a medical point of view. The most direct way for reducing cesareans in Italy could be the formal prohibition of CSMR.
authors.affiliation: Unità Operativa Complessa di Ginecologia e Ostetricia, Ospedale "Alto Tevere"di Città di Castello, ASL 1 Umbria, Città di Castello, Italy.
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Indraccolo
authors.affiliation: Unità Operativa Complessa di Ginecologia e Ostetricia, Ospedale Civico di Codogno, Azienda Ospedaliera della provincia di Lodi, Codogno, Italy.
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scutiero
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Chirurgiche, Università di Foggia, Foggia Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matteo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Ginecologiche, Ostetriche e Scienze Urologiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore Renato
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Indraccolo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Morfologia, Chirurgia e Medicina Sperimentale, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy&nbsp;
authors.forename: Pantaleo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Greco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008880:Midwifery; D057240:Patient Preference; D010820:Physicians; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires