Rationality vs empathy

When speaking to people in non-medical professions about daily life in neonatal care, many people wonder how we cope with everything.

This remarkable mix of well-baby-nursery problems, medical and ethical issues in the NICU... and all parents... and their fear, anger and happiness.

I do not really know what to respond to such questions, but a bit of the answer might be related to how we combine a rational mind with empathic capabilities. I mean, when standing in front of a newly delivered 25-weeker, immediate care is much driven by rational decision-making. But we (should…) also consider comfort issues already in the delivery room, and such strategies are probably based on what we believe the infant is really experiencing. Right there on the resuscitation table, medicated, intubated and on the ventilator.

How we manage to cope with everything in our daily service in neonatal care may be related to how well we create a succesful synthesis of rationality and empathy. Not an easy task.