Clinicians’ and womens’ experiences of two consent pathways in a trial of timing of clamping at very preterm birth: a qualitative study

Background Recruitment to trials when birth is imminent requires offering consent at a difficult and stressful time, often with limited time. The Cord Pilot Trial assessed timing of cord clamping at very preterm birth. To ensure high risk women were not excluded we developed a two stage oral assent pathway, for use when birth was imminent. A third of women were recruited using this pathway. The aim of this study was to explore clinicians’ and women’s’ experiences of the two consent pathways.