Would you ask for your baby to be saved at 22 weeks gestation.?

Question

Personal experience please be kind!

Not to kill but to actively resucitate and do everything for!

Answer 1

At the time of birth, absolutely.

I'd want to give my child every chance at life, even if his/her chances of surviving were very slim. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I didn't know I'd tried everything. Every baby is different so unless the doctors try to save them, they don't know how well they will or won't do.

Having said that, if I had a baby who was born very prematurely and was resuscitated, I would have to think long and hard about how long I was prepared to let him/her be kept alive by artificial means.

If it became apparent that the baby was suffering, and/or was unlikely ever to be able to leave the hospital, or was going to have a very poor quality of life because of disabilities caused by the premature birth, then I would like think I would be strong enough to turn off the life support machine. Not having been in this situation (and I'm very sorry for anyone who has), I couldn't say for sure whether I'd be able to, but I think it would, in this case, be best for the baby to let nature take its course.

It's a terrible decision for any parent to have to make, but I'm glad that, at least for the moment, the parents do have this choice and have the right to expect doctors to try and save their baby. The thought that doctors may be advised not to try and save very tiny babies horrifies me - maybe only one in a hundred will survive, but that one is somebody's child and at least deserves a chance at life.

I would like to say at this point though, that although these are my feelings about what I would do for my child, I can completely understand that in some cases parents might feel it was not appropriate to try and save the baby, and they should not be condemned for this.

I am very sorry that this has happened to you, and wish you all the best for the future.

Answer 2

It's at 20 weeks and under, isn't it, that there's a question over intervention to save them? So I think they'd do all they could for a 22 weeks gestation baby anyway.

I'm always a bit dubious about how they can be certain of the exact number of weeks anyway. It's often just an educated guess, and they can be wrong. They were with me!

My twins were born at 29 weeks and spent 9 weeks in the neonatal unit. I saw several babies in that time who were earlier; they have the technology to keep them going these days. The machines help them breathe, monitor their heartbeats etc. If they can keep them going, they will mature and develop as they would in the womb. I do not believe that they will necessarily have problems 'for the rest of their life', as someone has said.

Your best bet is to ask the advice of the doctors, and especially the nurses, in the neonatal unit. They have experience of looking after and resuscitating very prem babies, and could assess the child and give an idea of what his or her chances would be, and the best course of action.

Best wishes.

Answer 3

Yes Yes and a hundred times Yes.

I'm 37 weeks pregnant with my first baby (after trying for years and being told I'd need IVF) and as a result this baby has been indescribably precious to me. This may well be the only chld I can ever have.

If anything had gone wrong and my baby had been born that early I would have BEGGED the doctor on my knees to save my child!

I also know a little girl who was born at about 21 weeks gestation and she is fine. She's 11 years old and the only problem is that her growth is stunted - she's about the size of a 6 year old, but she's bright and healthy and happy (talented little dancer) and brings her parents lots of joy. It took a lot of intensive care and several resusc attempts to save her but it was worth it. Under this new ruling she wouldn't have been given a chance at life. Disgusting.

Doctors need to pull our the stops and do what they can to save a tiny child, the only time they should withold resusc is if the child has no prospect of survival and is in pain. It needs to be judged on a case by case basis with the approval of the parents.

Answer 4

Only 1 in 100 babies born at 22 weeks survives, even with all the high-tech intervention that hospitals can provide these days.

I don't know.

I think if my baby had a lot of other abnormalities that I knew about AND was in for such a struggle, I might not ask for heroic measures. I'd want him/her warmed, held, fed (if he/she could eat), put on a ventilator, and kept comfortable. But I don't think I'd ask for a ton of surgeries or anything.

But the chances of survival go up dramatically with each week after 22, and since your due date is only an estimate, I think you'd have to really take a look at the baby and his or her development and make a judgement call.

It's a hard thing. I'm so sorry you went through it.

Answer 5

I think I would have them try everything possible to help my baby. I couldn't imagine just not doing anything and then wonder years down the road if anything more could have been done. I don't know if I would want my child living on machines the rest of it's life. There's a child here in the town I live in, that was so deprived of oxygen when he was born, that he was almost black. The parents had the dr's to rescuitate him and he lived. He's 12 now. But he has Cerebal Palsey, is blind and deaf. He has a trach and just pretty much lays there all day long. I don't know if I could put my child through that. But if it's ment to be then so be it. God has a reason for each and every one of us on this earth. But yeah I think I would have them try what they could. If God wants the little one home with Him, then He will take it. Regardless of what all the Dr's here do.

Answer 6

As I'm not in that position, I would want them to try and save the baby, but not use excepional measures, because of all the things that can go wrong, and having a baby who may need care all its life.BUT if I was in that position I think I would want everything possible doing for my baby, all babies deserve a chance to survive no matter what the outcome. I am so sorry that you are going through this

Answer 7

Absolutley, it must be such a difficult thing to go through to carry a baby all that time and then the medical professionals taking that descision away from any parents to be. The way I look at it is they are there to preserve life, if there is a chance no matter how small it should be our human right to make the choice.
Im so sorry to hear that this is a personal experience for you. Take care.

Answer 8

Yes. It's a little life struggling to survive. At 22 weeks, of course, you know the chances of survival are very slim.
My daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl at 20 weeks last year. The baby made movements after delivery, but died shortly afterwards. She was perfect. My son and his wife are now expecting their second child in
March, but every week they mourn the little girl they should have had, and put flowers on her grave.
She was a real person, even if only for a few moments.

Answer 9

The health risk to your baby is high, and the chances of survival are very slim. Your baby is not fully developed. You have to ask yourself if you're prepared to bring a child into this world with physical and/or mental disadvantages.

If you're scientific minded, here's an interesting paper discussing the outcome of premature deliveries.

Answer 10

On the one hand i would but on the other i wouldnt!

A baby at that early a stage surely cant be fully developed and would most likely have to spend a long long time in Intensive care and have problems all its life.

Its up to the mother really its her decision at the end of the day if theres a decision to make. Everyone is different and its them thats got to live with what ever decision they make, no one can say for sure what they would do in that situation.

xxx