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Parental voices in the sea of neonatal ethical dilemmas
Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing
|January 1, 1989
Insights
Parents
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care
- Bioethics
- Parental Perceptions
Background:
- Ethical dilemmas in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) often focus on viability limits and medical interventions.
- The perspective of parents facing high-risk infant care is infrequently explored in ethical discussions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and summarize parental perceptions during neonatal intensive care.
- To identify nursing implications for sensitive care based on parental experiences.
Main Methods:
- In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 families who had high-risk infants.
- Parental statements were collected before discharge from the NICU.
Main Results:
- Parental perceptions varied significantly between the pre-NICU admission period and the NICU experience.
- Key themes emerged regarding parental emotional and informational needs throughout the NICU stay.
Conclusions:
- Understanding parental perceptions is crucial for ethical neonatal care.
- Nursing interventions should be tailored to address parental concerns and enhance support during neonatal intensive care.
Abstract:
Ethical debate in neonatal intensive care centers around the lower limits of viability, the use of multiple invasive procedures, and the role of paternalism. The parents' perspective has been addressed infrequently. This report will focus on the parents' statements as obtained through predischarge in-depth interviews with 32 families, each with a high-risk infant(s). Discussion will include a summary of the range of parental perceptions during two major periods of time: preadmission to the NICU and the NICU experience itself. Some possible nursing implications will be drawn that reflect a sensitive response to these parental perceptions.