NUTRITION FOR THE FAMILY Medically Provided Hydration and Nutrition in Infants: Ethical Considerations

摘要

Nutrition and hydration, along with other life-sustaining interventions such as mechanical ventilation, are employed frequently in the NICU to treat transient medical conditions. For example, an infant born at 26 weeks typically is placed on mechanical ventilation, has an intravenous (IV) inserted, and may have a nasogastric (NG) tube placed when deemed appropriate. Although both the IV and NG tubes are artificial, no one would question their use, as they "serve the worthwhile purpose of sustaining the life of versely, natural feeding methods, such as bottle or breastfeeding, do not involve medical means. The term food is not used, as it "elicits images of swallowing along with the pleasures and social connotations that accompany those actions" (Dieke-ma, Botkin, & the Committee on Bioethics, 2009, p. 814).