Neonatal Bioethics


Book Description

Neonatal intensive care has been one of the most morally controversial areas of medicine during the last thirty years. This study offers an expansive view of the abstract and practical features of neonatal medicine, examining the interconnected development of four key aspects of neonatal intensive care: medical advances, ethical analysis, legal scrutiny, and econometric evaluation. Tracing the recent history of neonatal ethics, analyzing the notable advances, and considering the many lessons to be learned, the authors present neonatal medicine as a paradigm of responsible societal management of medical innovation.




Religion and Ethics in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit


Book Description

Families' religious beliefs often profoundly shape their approach to medical decisions, including treatment of their sick or premature newborns. But there are few studies of major religions' teachings about the newborn. This volume provides information to neonatal intensive care unit professionals, parents of NICU patients, and students of bioethics on religious teachings about the status, treatment, and ritual accompaniments of care of the newborn.




Preterm Birth


Book Description

The increasing prevalence of preterm birth in the United States is a complex public health problem that requires multifaceted solutions. Preterm birth is a cluster of problems with a set of overlapping factors of influence. Its causes may include individual-level behavioral and psychosocial factors, sociodemographic and neighborhood characteristics, environmental exposure, medical conditions, infertility treatments, and biological factors. Many of these factors co-occur, particularly in those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups. While advances in perinatal and neonatal care have improved survival for preterm infants, those infants who do survive have a greater risk than infants born at term for developmental disabilities, health problems, and poor growth. The birth of a preterm infant can also bring considerable emotional and economic costs to families and have implications for public-sector services, such as health insurance, educational, and other social support systems. Preterm Birth assesses the problem with respect to both its causes and outcomes. This book addresses the need for research involving clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science disciplines. By defining and addressing the health and economic consequences of premature birth, this book will be of particular interest to health care professionals, public health officials, policy makers, professional associations and clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science researchers.







Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children E-Book


Book Description

What should happen when doctors and parents disagree about what would be best for a child? When should courts become involved? Should life support be stopped against parents' wishes? The case of Charlie Gard, reached global attention in 2017. It led to widespread debate about the ethics of disagreements between doctors and parents, about the place of the law in such disputes, and about the variation in approach between different parts of the world. In this book, medical ethicists Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu critically examine the ethical questions at the heart of disputes about medical treatment for children. They use the Gard case as a springboard to a wider discussion about the rights of parents, the harms of treatment, and the vital issue of limited resources. They discuss other prominent UK and international cases of disagreement and conflict. From opposite sides of the debate Wilkinson and Savulescu provocatively outline the strongest arguments in favour of and against treatment. They analyse some of the distinctive and challenging features of treatment disputes in the 21st century and argue that disagreement about controversial ethical questions is both inevitable and desirable. They outline a series of lessons from the Gard case and propose a radical new 'dissensus' framework for future cases of disagreement. - This new book critically examines the core ethical questions at the heart of disputes about medical treatment for children. - The contents review prominent cases of disagreement from the UK and internationally and analyse some of the distinctive and challenging features around treatment disputes in the 21st century. - The book proposes a radical new framework for future cases of disagreement around the care of gravely ill people.




Bioethics in the Pediatric ICU: Ethical Dilemmas Encountered in the Care of Critically Ill Children


Book Description

This book examines the many ethical issues that are encountered in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). It supports pediatricians, nurses, residents, and other providers in their daily management of critically ill children with the dilemmas that arise. It begins by examining the evolution of pediatric critical care, and who is now impacted by this advancing medical technology. Subsequent chapters explore specific ethical concerns and controversies that are commonly encountered. These topics include how to conduct end-of-life discussions with families facing a myriad of challenging choices. It goes on to explore the concept of futility, and what that does and does not mean in the pediatric ICU setting. Controversial subjects such as children as organ donors, particularly using donation after cardiac death, in addition to issues surrounding the declaration of brain death are covered. Additional chapters address resource allocation, and also analyze the use of long-term technology in chronically critically ill children. Chapters include case examples with guidance on how to work through similar difficulties and decision-making. While this book is specifically targeted for care providers at the ICU bedside, it is also of benefit to medical students, students in bioethics, practicing ethical consultants and families who are dealing with critically ill children.




Too Expensive to Treat?


Book Description

The moral status of newborn infants -- Arguments against the social quality of life model -- The "weak" social quality of life model -- A constructive proposal for reforming the treatment and care of imperiled newborns.




Merenstein & Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care - E-Book


Book Description

Co-authored by an interprofessional collaborative team of physicians and nurses, Merenstein & Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care, 9th Edition is the leading resource for interprofessional, collaborative care of critically ill newborns. It offers comprehensive coverage with a unique interprofessional collaborative approach and a real-world perspective that make it a practical guide for both nurses and physicians. The new ninth edition features a wealth of expanded content on delivery-room care; new evidence-based care "bundles"; palliative care in the NICU; interprofessional collaborative care of parents with depression, grief, and complicated grief; and new pain assessment tools. Updated high-quality references have also been reintegrated into the book, making it easier for clinicians to locate research evidence and standards of care with minimal effort. These additions, along with updates throughout, ensure that clinicians are equipped with the very latest clinical care guidelines and practice recommendations — all in a practical quick-reference format for easy retrieval and review. - UNIQUE! Core author team of two physicians and two nurses gives this internationally recognized reference a true interprofessional collaborative approach that is unmatched by any other resource. - Consistent organization within clinical chapters include Physiology/Pathophysiology, Etiology, Prevention, Data Collection (History, Signs and Symptoms, and Laboratory Data), Treatment/Intervention, Complications, and Parent Teaching sections. - UNIQUE! Color-highlighted point-of-care clinical content makes high-priority clinical content quick and easy to find. - UNIQUE! Parent Teaching boxes outline the relevant information to be shared with a patient's caregivers. - Critical Findings boxes outline symptoms and diagnostic findings that require immediate attention to help the provider prioritize assessment data and steps in initial care. - Case studies demonstrate how to apply essential content to realistic clinical scenarios for application-based learning. - NEW! Updated content throughout reflects the latest evidence-based practice, national and international guidelines, and current protocols for interprofessional collaborative practice in the NICU. - NEW! Up-to-date, high-quality references are now reintegrated into the text for quick retrieval, making it easier for clinicians to locate research evidence and standards of care with minimal effort. - NEW! Expanded content on delivery-room care includes the impact of staffing on quality of care, delayed cord clamping, resuscitation, and more. - NEW! Coverage of the new evidence-based care "bundles" keeps clinicians up to date on new guidelines that have demonstrated improved outcomes of very preterm infants. - NEW! Coverage of new pain assessment tools equips NICU providers with essential resources for maintaining patient comfort. - NEW! Expanded coverage of palliative care in the NICU provides the tools needed to ensure patient comfort. - NEW! Expanded coverage of interprofessional collaborative care of parents with depression, grief, and complicated grief prepares clinicians for this essential area of practice.




Year Book of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine 2011


Book Description

The Year Book of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine brings you abstracts of the articles that reported the year's breakthrough developments in neontatology and perinatology, carefully selected from more than 500 journals worldwide. Dr. Avroy Fanaroff, Emeritus Professor as Case Western Reserve University, is a key opinion leader who has been a driving force in the field for many years. He authors many commentaries himself and has assembled top experts to select the most important journal articles and write commentaries that evaluate the clinical importance of each article and discuss its application to patient care. There's no faster or easier way to stay informed! This annual covers all aspects of care from the fetus, postnatal growth, labor and delivery, infectious diseases, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular health, and gastrointestinal health to name a few. The Year Book of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine publishes annually in November.




Mormonism, Medicine, and Bioethics


Book Description

Mormonism, Medicine, and Bioethics provides the first comprehensive treatment of principles and positions on questions of bioethics encountered by members, professionals, and ecclesiastical leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon). The book addresses three fundamental features of a coherent religious bioethics: precepts for practical decision-making, general ethical principles, and core religious convictions that give a distinctive motivation for personal, communal, and professional integrity. LDS ethical principles of love, hospitality to strangers, covenantal solidarity, justice, and moral agency are integrated with central topics in bioethics including abortion, genetic testing and enhancements, in vitro fertilization, medical assisted death, medicinal marijuana, neonatal intensive care, organ donation, preventive health care, universal access to care, and vaccinations. This book uses first-person experiences to give voice to the lived moral realities of Latter-day Saints as they experience difficult and wrenching ethical questions and choices as persons, family members, community members, professionals, and as citizens within the context of their distinctive faith convictions. It situates these communal conversations within the broader discourse of bioethics and thereby supports both bioethics and religious literacy. Mormonism, Medicine, and Bioethics also examines circumstances in which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints engages in a moral witness of its values on matters of public policy, such as legalization of physician-assisted death, of elective abortion, and of medicinal marijuana. The book concludes with a distinctive normative argument on why LDS ethical principles and practices require support of universal access to an adequate level of health care for all persons. It provides an appendix of significant LDS ecclesiastical policies on medical, health, and moral issues, making it a definitive educational and reference compilation.