[Ethical considerations in neonatal medicine].
Ethical dilemmas are a daily occurrence in neonatal intensive care units. Some of these questions relate to life-and-death issues such as whom to treat or not to treat, if and when to discontinue life support, and organ donation. However, other issues are just as important in daily practice. These include the choice of a framework for ethical discussions, the question of who participates in the discussions, the parents' right to participation and information, the process and timing of decision-making, the ethics of clinical research in subjects unable to consent, respect and communication between health professionals, and the limits of confidentiality. In most of these dilemmas there is no quick and easy route to the one and only true answer. Neonatal health care workers are frequently confronted with ethical dilemmas, and are forced to reflect ethically. In this process, it is essential to be able to listen attentively to others, health workers as well as lay persons, and to integrate their opinions into one's own reflections. These two factors together must form the basis for daily clinical work and for ethical decisions.
Hansen
T W
TW
Neonatalseksjonen Barneklinikken Rikshospitalet, Oslo.
Finne
P H
PH
D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D009359:Neonatology; D009664:Norway; D016414:Resuscitation Orders
Etiske overveielser i nyfødtmedisinen.