When Emily Boros-Rausch began reading and attending birth classes while expecting her son, now eight months old, the Moncton, NB mother of one was surprised at the number of choices involved in the care she was to receive during her pregnancy, birth, and immediately afterward. ?There are so many decisions to make?at times I did find it quite worrying,? she recalls. The amount of agency you’re given over your care can often depend on whether your primary care provider during your pregnancy is a midwife or an OB/GYN. 
However, being able to make an informed choice that fits with your values about whether to undergo any medical procedure?and still be treated with respect and dignity?is your right. ?It?s a health human rights issue,? stresses Kathrin Stoll, a senior research associate at the Birth Place Lab in the University of British Columbia?s Faculty of Medicine, who focuses on respectful, patient-centred maternity care. Very little research has looked at what happens when birthing people decline care. (Most studies have examined this phenomenon ?from the perspective of the care providers,? Stoll says.) So she and a research team, including professor Saraswathi Vedam, lead investigator at UBC?s Birth Place Lab, recently conducted a study looking at what was declined by the birther, why it was declined, and how the care provider reacted, from the perspective of the childbearing people themselves.
Some respondents reported they hadn?t been fully informed of their opti...