Treating babies born before 22 weeks

A woman who claims that medical staff left her premature baby to die because he was born at less than 22 weeks has attracted a number of headlines in the media. Sarah Capewell is campaigning for every baby, whatever their age, to be treated by doctors and for parents to be given information to make their own informed choice about whether the child should be treated in a neonatal intensive care unit.

At the moment the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the British Association of Perinatal Medicine have guidelines saying that babies born below 22 weeks' gestation should not be resuscitated.


Do you think these guidelines need to be revised, particularly in light of continuing advances in treating premature babies?