Ethical questions are common in neonatal care. Dominic Wilkinson is not only a consultant neonatologist, he is also an ethicist who has written a fantastic book. The title "Death or Disability" catches questions we and parents commonly ask. I can recommend this book to everyone. It should be available in the staff book shelf in every NICU.
Leaning against examples of situations and practises over the last 2000 years, Wilkinson dissects ethical questions related to clinical care and decision-making. First, he focuses on the question of the “best interest”. I was especially caught by the chapter on competing interests, when decisions in the NICU may be complicated by imbalances between what may be considered to be in the best for the infant, in the best for the parents, and even in the best for other infants and families when resources are constrained. Then Wilkinson continues with addressing our difficulties to make predictions of later outcomes and how that uncertainty may impact our treatment decision, and the interests of the infant and parents.
You can read the full review on our review section, here!
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