Court approved caesarean section for mentally ill woman because of two previous caesareans

An Italian woman who was forced to undergo a caesarean section while she was detained under the Mental Health Act on a short visit to the United Kingdom was given a diagnosis of a schizophrenic disorder by the consultant psychiatrist caring for her, newly released court papers show.1

Alessandra Pacchieri, aged 35, was previously said to have bipolar disorder and to have experienced a panic attack while taking a training course at Stansted airport. But a transcript of the application to the Court of Protection, which authorised the operation, described her as having “a significant mental disorder which is psychotic in nature” and experiencing “psychotic episodes and delusional …