title: Ethical decision making for high-risk infants. The parents' perspective.
abstract: The experiences of 32 families with high-risk infants provide the foundation for a discussion of the parents' perception of the ethical dimension of intensive newborn care. The families' focus on the need for support in the NICU crisis rather than a plea for rights, justice, and autonomous decision making leads to a suggested professional response guided by an ethic of care. Through a caring professional, ethical decision making in the NICU can be implemented to encompass a shared moral responsibility for the high-risk infant during this process.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Pinch
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Spielman
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D030881:Disclosure; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay; D033282:Parental Consent; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing