Ethics and Medico-legal implications in delivery room emergencies.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2019
Identifier
DOI: 10.1016/j.siny.2019.101029
Abstract
There is very little law-either case law or statutory law - that regulates delivery room decisions about resuscitation of critically ill newborns. Most of the case law that exists is decades old. Thus, physicians cannot look to the law for much guidance about what is permissible or prohibited. Local hospital policies and professional society statements provide some guidance, but they cannot be all-inclusive and encompass all potentially encountered scenarios. Ultimately, the physician, the medical team, and the parents must try to reach a shared decision about the best course of action for each individual infant and each unique family. In this paper, we review some of the case law that may be applicable to such decisions and make recommendations about how decisions should be made.
Journal Title
Seminars in fetal & neonatal medicine
Volume
24
Issue
6
First Page
101029
Last Page
101029
MeSH Keywords
Adult; Critical Illness; Decision Making, Shared; Delivery Rooms; Delivery, Obstetric; Emergencies; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Liability, Legal; Obstetric Labor Complications; Physician-Patient Relations; Pregnancy; Resuscitation
Keywords
Adult; Critical Illness; Decision Making, Shared; Delivery Rooms; Delivery, Obstetric; Emergencies; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Liability, Legal; Obstetric Labor Complications; Physician-Patient Relations; Pregnancy; Resuscitation
Recommended Citation
Brunkhorst J, Lantos JD. Ethics and Medico-legal implications in delivery room emergencies. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019;24(6):101029. doi:10.1016/j.siny.2019.101029
COinS
