Videoing births spurs warning

A transtasman obstetricians group has warned that the recording of caesarean births by new parents could have safety and legal repercussions for the medical fraternity.

Dr Christine Tippett, senior vice-president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said yesterday that it was not up to the college to "blanket ban" enthusiastic parents with a camera, but there were potential legal problems with videoing a caesarean.

"We do live in a climate where people are careful regarding medico-legal issues," she told Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper.

"Anxiety about litigation does contribute to people's reluctance."

In the United States, many hospitals have banned videoing births after footage was used as evidence in malpractice suits.

Dr Tippett said a caesarean needed the consent of up to a dozen medical staff. And having video equipment in the theatre could compromise a sterile environment.

New South Wales Health said it was up to individual hospitals to develop their own policies regarding filming births.

Most said that filming caesareans was at the discretion of obstetricians.

Dr Andrew Pesce, the Australian Medical Association's spokesman for obstetricians and gynaecologists, said few doctors objected to filming, but there was little demand anyway. Only about 10 per cent of patients wanted to bring a video camera into a caesarean.

"A lot of them don't want the grisly bits anyway. They want to film the baby at the end," Dr Pesce said.

Medical Insurance Australia Group medico-legal manager Cheryl McDonald said it was questionable what legal weight a video would hold in the event of a malpractice suit.

"Litigation is usually about clinical decisions, not about things you can capture on videotape."

- NZPA