Are Studies of Premature Babies and Child Mortality Ethical?
In today's society, biomedical health issues have been rising, and due to both the media and very opinionated people being involved, these issues have brought much controversy to the medical world. Child mortality and premature birth is just one out of many of the controversial health topics out there, however with a countless number of children who are affected by abuse and parental negligence, it can be argued as one of the most important controversial topics. With scientists and doctors performing many studies on premature children, it is crucial that both parties are aware of what is going on and that tests are not performed without consent. While premature birth can be
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The studies conducted by the central for disease control, (CDC), not only show that infant mortality is more prevalent in teen mothers and of those who use drugs, but also in many instances where white, college educated parents’ children would have normal birth outcomes as opposed to those who did not attend. While “infant mortality is largely preventable,” one of the main reasons it occurs is because of families not having insurance to cover health visits and “without health insurance, many pregnant women can’t receive early and regular medical attention throughout the pregnancy” (Cooper 2). Although child mortality is typically known for occurring during their infant stage of life, abusive situations often caused by abusive parents or guardians can also put the children at a large risk of death. According to Richard Wexler, the Executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, “multiple studies have found alarming rates of abuse in foster homes and even more abuse in group homes and …show more content…
Although the scientists often believe that conducting studies on newborns is just helping them get data, in certain cases such as the study of “oxygen levels] in incubators [...] endangering babies,” the study affected many infants lives, often not for the better (Millenson 1). Most people in today’s society believe that if students are not properly educated on the ‘causes and effects’ of pregnancy in general, let alone teen pregnancy, they will get pregnant at a young age and often times young pregnancies can be the cause of children born prematurely or with extreme disorders that can possibly go on to harm them later in life. While there are certain doctors that people without health insurance can go to, to get medical help, “many pregnant women [without health insurance] cannot receive early and medical attention throughout [their] pregnancy, which is vital to a healthy birth… ,”which can also be a cause of infant or even child mortality due to the lack of a job that provides the proper health care opportunities you need to have to properly raise a family (Cooper 2). Although most people would agree with the fact that studies involving premature babies and cases of child mortality are unethical when reading different results and due to the background and way the reader was raised in, they will either support the
Once babies are grown in test tubes, there would be no need for parents and therefore vanish the incredible bond between the mother, father, and child. The childhood of a child that was grown in a test tube would be completely unconventional, since that child would not have loving parents to teach them anything. Adults raised this way would grow up to be unusual as a result of not knowing what love is since people first know about love because of the love between them and their parents. The adults grown from test tubes would most likely be independent and isolated from the rest of the world because they would not have created a bond with anyone or even interacted with anyone as a child.
Before receiving the Real Care Baby, I knew it took a lot of work to care for a newborn. I now know that it takes a lot more than I thought. The forty-eight hours I had the baby were frustrating, exhausting, and stressful. It’s a lot of hard work, but I’m sure if it were a real child it would totally be worth it.
Premature birth is an important public health priority in terms of health of women and infants. Every year an estimated 15 million preterm babies are born and this number is still rising (WHO, 2015).In 2014, 1 of every 10 babies born in United States were premature and black infants were 50% more likely to be born premature than white, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific islander infants (CDC,2015). Almost 1 million children die each year due to complications of premature birth (WHO, 2015). Major survivors face lifelong disabilities like learning disabilities, hearing, visual, feeding, digestive, breathing and respiratory problems (CDC, 2015) and low birth weight (March of Dimes, 2014). A major challenge in decreasing the rate of preterm birth is
Premature birth has been linked to a vast array of lungs problems, the earlier the birth the greater risk of health complications(Davis R and Mychaliska G, 2013). A majority of the health problems will affect the infant for the rest of their life (Davis R and Mychaliska G, 2013). Infants born between the canalicular and the saccular period (week 25) have lung development that is unsuitable for gas exchange (Davis R and Mychaliska G, 2013). Two major complications that arise with undeveloped lungs is bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (Mahgoub L. et al. 2017).
Welcome Baby Care is a full-service doula agency that is located in Edina, Minnesota. This doula agency was established in 2006. Welcome Baby Care offers in-home services and care packages. Their in-home services include daytime doula care, “night nanny” care, lactation counseling, and gentle sleep coaching. Welcome Baby Care is affiliated with the Minnesota Department of Health, Postpartum Support International, Mom Enough, and more.
A young, pregnant woman is sitting anxiously at the hospital waiting to hear the results of her ultrasound. As she waits, she remembers the horrible car accident she had just been in less than two hours ago. After a short time, the doctor comes in and confirms the young woman’s fears, her soon to be twins had no heartbeat and were gone. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too familiar for me because I lost my soon to be twin nephews due to a car accident. Within a split second, my entire world was changed all because a young man did not want to stop at a red light. Although the loss of my nephews was devastating, it did inspire me to help any mother I could in hopes that, she too, would not have to go through the same pain and heartache. Because of my new-found drive, I have decided to become a neonatal nurse, which, is a nurse who works with new born babies in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Being a neonatal nurse
Working with newborns and premature babies can be a stressful job. A neonatologist mainly focuses on high-risk cases where babies cannot be delivered without complications, such as heart and lung failure, and many other birth defects. This career is a dexterous job, so it requires a lot of patience and skill. It is expected to grow over the next 10 years, as the medical field is always in need of doctors and surgeons. A neonatologist is a great career for people who like the medical field, enjoy working with others, and have a big heart to care for infants and their families.
During my four days with the baby I had new developments for how I felt towards children. My initial thoughts on this baby project was that it would be easy and fun because of my experience with my little brother and sister, but boy was I wrong. The project was a lot of work. You don’t get a fun interactive baby, you only get the bad parts of the baby. You get the crying, diaper using, and hungry baby. It’s a lot of work.
As I am quickly approaching my high school graduation, the question of “What are you going to major in? What are you going to be?” gets thrown my way very often. I had always known I wanted to go into the medical field and be help to others but I never knew what. I threw around the idea of becoming a pediatric surgeon, pulmonary pediatric doctor, or finally I came to the consensus of becoming a nurse. Now, another question follows, what kind of nurse? I have jumped around from specializing in Pediatrics or Neonatal. I am researching both careers very intensely to determine which career I am most interested in and would like to pursue. I knew both careers are very intense, it is not easy working with very sick and weak kids.
Just a few years ago, I fully realized that I want to be a Neonatal doctor. When I was about three, I had this little doll that I would carry around. One day we were watching Life and Trauma in the E.R. and I threw my baby doll onto the floor and started to resuscitate her. Ever since then I knew that I wanted to be a doctor of some kind; I just wasn't sure what kind of doctor I wanted to be.
Premature birth is a public health crisis because it is responsible for 75 percent of infant
My career that I have chosen is becoming a Neonatal nurse. A Neonatal nurse is someone who works with infants that have minor to major complications such as birth defects, prematurity, infections, and difficulty with breathing. The nurse’s responsibility is to make sure that the newborn is getting the nutrients that they need because they are not able to produce that necessity for themselves. They usually work in environments like hospitals (specifically the intensive care unit) and clinics working alongside adult nurses, doctors (pediatricians), and midwives. This job relates to a lot of psychological concepts.
Approximately 740,000 women per year use at least one illegal substance during their pregnancy (“Birth Defect Statistics”). These substances can range from marijuana to cocaine. Premature birth is defined as the birth of a child on or before thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy. There are around 500,000 premature births per year (“Preterm Birth”). It is hard to directly correlate premature birth solely to drug use, since most women that use illicit drugs during their pregnancy also smoke and drink. However, a recent study shows that around sixteen percent of women that only use drugs during pregnancy have given birth to a premature infant, and these are only the women that admitted to using these drugs (“Causes and Risk Factors”). Negative effects
Medical and technological advances in maternal and neonatal care have significantly reduced maternal and infant mortality and medical interventions have become commonplace and arguably routine. Used appropriately, they can be lifesaving procedures. Routine use, without valid indication though, can transform childbirth from a natural physiologic process and family event into a medical or surgical procedure. Every intervention presents the possibility of unwanted effects and subsequent risks that can potentiate more interventions with their own inherent risks (McKinney, 2014).
Infant development is inseparable from the progression of the infant’s relationship with caregivers. Contemporary accounts of the early comments highlighted the role of parents and other guardians in supporting infants gradually (Lyons-Ruth & Zeanah, 1993). This is because the infant needs parents who can help her negotiate the developmental task. Thus, there are 4 stages to develop which is birth to 4 weeks, age 1 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months and 6 to 12 months.