Severely premature babies can survive, but parents not always told
August 08, 2024
» Continue to this story on Wall Street Journal
CWN Editor's Note: A special Wall Street Journal report finds that while medical science now makes it possible to save the lives of infants born very prematurely, most US hospitals are either unready or unwilling to provide that care.
Most hospitals lack to specialized equipment necessary to sustain the life of an infant born after 22 weeks of pregnancy. But the Journal reports that with appropriate treatment, 67% of those premature babies survive.
Another factor, the Journal notes, is the high cost of such treatment: usually over $100,000 in each case. In many cases, parents are not even informed of the possibility, and instead the hospital offers “comfort care,” describing the baby’s death as inevitable.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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