Background: Informed consent is a two-way communication process by which the patients/parents/guardians are provided the relevant and necessary information regarding the diagnosis and treatment. In the present study an attempt was made to find out the process (How, Who, Where & When) of obtaining informed consent in Obstetrical & Gynaecological surgeries. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at SVMCH & RC, Ariyur, Puducherry. Randomly, 132 post-operative cases were interviewed by a pre-designed, pre-tested and structured questionnaire from 1st October 2011 to 31st December 2011. Results: In 21.2% of cases consent was not given by the patient and in majority (72.7%) of cases consent was taken by the nurse. In 75.8% of cases consent was taken on previous day or prior to it, consent was taken in ward in 92.5% of cases and duration of explanation was from more than five to fifteen minutes in 65.2% of cases. In 48.5% of cases nurses witnessed the consent process, but in 24.2% of cases consent was not taken in patients’ own language. All the components of informed consent were explained to the patients in majority of cases.

Conclusion: The process of obtaining informed consent still has to be improved.