Author:Brian S Carter, MD, FAAP; Chief Editor: Ted Rosenkrantz, MD
As neonatal medicine has developed in the United States, clinical ethics (ie, bioethics, medical ethics, healthcare ethics) have also become increasingly present in the healthcare environment.[1] For more than 40 years, neonatal medicine has been practiced to provide specialized and intensive care measures aimed at improving the health and survival of premature and critically ill newborns.
Throughout this period, great strides have been made in improving the technical capabilities that allow more rapid and precise diagnoses, effective monitoring, and specific therapy. The availability of special-care nursery beds has increased dramatically, as has the number of professionals and specialists trained to care for this vulnerable population.
The results of these progresses are mixed. A substantial reduction in the mortality of premature infants has occurred. The rate of handicap or significant morbidity appears to have remained steady or declined in survivors of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of nearly all gestational ages and weights. Despite these facts, the rate of prematurity has not declined in the United States; in fact, it has risen. Nor has the rate of low birth weight babies (those with birth weights
I have to disagree about more female providers. The majority of our docs, especially our high risk docs, are male. If you were a patient at our hospital you would have been flagged high risk from your first baby and only been seen by high risk docs. Male or female, it shouldn't matter, if they are over looking something then you need a new doc.
Bortaz, MSN, RN
2,628 Posts