Decision-making during pregnancy: examining the challenges that women face today

怀孕是妇女处于一个不仅关系到她自己的医疗保健，也关系到未来孩子的健康的时期。孕期医疗护理的重点绝大多数集中在避免风险上，特别是对胎儿的风险。越来越多的人担心，这种做法可能会限制孕妇对自己行为的选择，从而损害她们的自主权。我的研究将考察尊重自主的原则如何在怀孕的背景下运作，以及妇女在做出关于她们的护理的自己的决定时是否得到充分的支持。医学上的进步意味着胎儿已经成为一个更加显眼的实体，并被视为患者(尽管根据英国法律不是法人)，与母亲分开。虽然有时被称为母胎冲突，但这个术语具有误导性，因为这一领域的法律纠纷涉及妇女和医疗保健提供者，而不是胎儿。与其说是母婴冲突，不如说是“产科冲突”。这种理论方法更好地反映了一名妇女可能是自愿怀孕的，与胎儿没有冲突，但她做出有意义的决定的能力可能会受到医疗保健提供者的影响。

Pregnancy is a time where the woman is in a position where the medical care not only concerns her, but also the health of the future child. The focus of medical care during pregnancy is overwhelmingly centred around avoiding risk, and particularly risk towards the foetus. There is an increasing concern that this approach can cause the pregnant women's autonomy to be undermined, by restricting the choices she can make regarding her behaviour. My research will examine how the principle of respect for autonomy operates in the context of pregnancy, and whether women are being adequately supported in making their own decisions regarding their care. Advances in medicine mean that the foetus has become a more visible entity, and regarded as a patient (although not a legal person under English law), separate to the mother. Although sometimes referred to as the 'maternal-foetal conflict', this terminology is misleading, as the legal disputes in this area involve the woman and the healthcare provider, not the foetus. Rather than maternal-foetal, it is an 'obstetric conflict'. This theoretical approach better reflects that a woman may be voluntarily pregnant, not being in conflict with the foetus, but may nevertheless be in a position where her ability to make meaningful decisions regarding her care is influenced by healthcare providers.