Towards the Womb of Neonatal Intensive Care

Michael A van Manen1

  • 1John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, University of Alberta, 5-16 University Terrace, 8303 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2T4, Canada. michaelv@ualberta.ca.

Within the mother's womb, life finds its first stirrings. The womb shelters the fetus, the growing child within. We recognize the existential traces of a wombed existence when a newborn calms in response to being held; when a newborn stills in response to his or her mother's heartbeat; and, when a newborn startles in the presence of bright light. Yet, how does experiential human life begin within another human being? What are the conditions and paths of becoming for the fetus within the womb? And for the child born early, what "womb" welcomes the premature child in neonatal intensive care?

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