Periviable Birth – The Ethical Conundrum

ABSTRACT

When delivery is anticipated near the limit of viability, both the family and the caregiver are faced with many complex and ethicallychallenging decisions. It must be remembered that the decisions that are made are going to impact the entire life of the baby and thefamily. Such decisions should be based on the best available evidence about the prognosis for the infant. If the chance of mortality andserious morbidity for an infant is high (but not too high), parental discretion around provision of life-sustaining treatment is appropriate. Inthis article, we discuss issues on survival and outcomes of extremely premature infants, and the available guidelines