Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Part 1 THE EXTREMELY PRETERM INFANT: EPIDEMIOLOGY, PERCEPTIONS, AND PRACTICES
- Part 2 BIOETHICS
- Part 3 REPORTS, OFFICIAL OPINIONS, AND GUIDELINES
- 23 United States
- 24 Canada
- 25 United Kingdom (UK)
- 26 France
- 27 Italy
- 28 Germany
- 29 International
- Part 4 THE LAW
- Part 5 EPILOGUE: TRUTH, TRUST, AND BOUNDARIES
- References
- Index
24 - Canada
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Part 1 THE EXTREMELY PRETERM INFANT: EPIDEMIOLOGY, PERCEPTIONS, AND PRACTICES
- Part 2 BIOETHICS
- Part 3 REPORTS, OFFICIAL OPINIONS, AND GUIDELINES
- 23 United States
- 24 Canada
- 25 United Kingdom (UK)
- 26 France
- 27 Italy
- 28 Germany
- 29 International
- Part 4 THE LAW
- Part 5 EPILOGUE: TRUTH, TRUST, AND BOUNDARIES
- References
- Index
Summary
In 1994 the Fetus and Newborn Committee of the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada published guidelines for the management of the woman with a threatened birth of an infant of extremely low gestational age.(237) Their recommendations were:
According to current Canadian outcome data, fetuses with a gestational age of less than 22 completed weeks are not viable, and those with an age of 22 weeks rarely viable. Their mothers are not, therefore, candidates for cesarian section, and the newborns should be provided with compassionate care, rather than active treatment. The outcomes for infants with a gestational age of 23 to 24 completed weeks vary greatly. Careful consideration should be given to the limited benefits for the infant and potential harms of cesarian section, as well as to the expected results of resuscitation at birth. Cesarian section, when indicated, and any required neonatal treatment are recommended for infants with gestational ages of 25 and 26 completed weeks; most infants of this age will survive and most survivors will not be severely disabled. Treatment of all infants with a gestational age of 22 to 26 weeks should be tailored to the infant and family and should have fully informed parents.
In the text of the report, the committees acknowledged the ethical complexities surrounding the extremely preterm infant and noted that the birth of a child with a gestational age of 22 to 26 weeks “is fraught with uncertainty concerning the chance of survival and the risk of impairment and disability.”
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Extreme PrematurityPractices, Bioethics and the Law, pp. 106 - 109Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006