Burdens Beyond Biology for Sick Newborn Infants and Their Families

To date, outcomes in neonatology have focused mainly on the biological outcomes of the babies under our care. In this article, we argue that we must move beyond this proband and biological bias, towards a "Slow Medicine" that recognizes the distinction between the remarkable technical capabilities of the modern medical world and how those intersect with our society, and its values, more broadly. Practically speaking, this involves consideration of the impacts of neonatal intensive care and its sequelae on families, as well as non-biological outcomes such as finances and stress. Implementing this Slow Medicine does not mean that neonatologists must forego effective therapy or the improved mortality and morbidity it has brought, but rather that we adopt a committed and compassionate view of medicine, in which we engage outside the neonatal intensive care unit to address the nonbiological suffering of our patients and their equally vulnerable families.