The price of life - 9TH March 9pm BBC2

[sherryberry79]

Hi all,

Just to let you know that there will be a documentary on tomorrow evening 09/03/11 about premature babies. I think it concentrates mainly on babies born in the 23rd wk of pregnancy, and I think it explores whether it is ethical to perform interventions on these babies, with such a low survuval rate at this gestation and an increased risk of severe disability.

It will be an emotional watch for most of us I am sure, but I will definately be watching.....I am interested in anything to do with prematurity having been affected by it. Tomorrow, 9pm BBC2

 

[PrincessPea]

Thank you for posting this dear, I will definitely be watching. xx

 

[toothfairyx]

I am planning on watching it x

 

[AP]

Im gonna avoid, the guy was on This Morning and he concluded he felt it was unethical, i concluded he was a tube....

 

[indy and lara]

Sandi, I told you how I feel about it. There is no way I will be watching it. I listened to a Doctor tell the MW there was 'no point' in trying to help our son, despite her arguing with him. He was OUR son and it should have been OUR decision. We may have come to the same decision after he was born but it was our decision to make, not someone else's.

 

[AP]

Honestly i think some of the girls here will gladly smack him :/
Lesley im always here lovely xxxxx

 

[indy and lara]

Thank you. It is one of those things. You think you are doing just fine and dandy and have come to terms with it and then, BOOM, it all blows up again.

 

[Lottie86]

I'm going to record it whilst I decide whether or not to watch it, part of me wants to watch it just to see what they have to say and part of me knows it's a bloomin stupid idea for me to watch it and I'll just end up getting myself really stressed and upset.

 

[Dasy25]

Thanks. Yep i think i will be watching too cause if i dont i know i will kick myself for it. Preparing myself for the upset now! May need to bring out the vino.....not that i advocate wine drinking as a way to deal with emotions mind you.

Indy and Lara- Sorry for your loss. Re your comment with coming to terms with things...i think this is something you will never get over but each day becomes a little easier perhaps? The times when it blows up and brings it all back to the forefront is some cruel way to help you move on that little bit more. Hope you're doing ok. I agree that any decision made should be the parents decision and not anyone else's. Hugs to you

 

[indy and lara]

Thank you. It has been 3 years now and we have our fantastic and wonderful rainbow baby but this never goes away. I think it is all very easy to sit and say 23 weekers should not be helped but it is not their own child they are talking about. I didn't choose to go into preterm labour, just as Andy and I did not choose to give up our parental rights to someone else.

 

[JoeandHarry]

I will be watching. My boys were born at 23 weeks and have beaten all the odds to be perfectly normal babies. I challenge anyone to look at them and say they shouldn't have been helped to survive.

 

[nkbapbt]

Not that I can watch it (it's not playing here in Canada) but I wouldn't anyways! Too close to home for me.

 

[Marleysgirl]

I watched it. I cried when the first baby died so soon after birth, but not when the second baby (Simone) died. Was that because she had a better chance at life? I dunno.

It's certainly sparked discussion in our household as to the level of intervention we'd permit, and where we'd draw the line, if we had a baby that premature.

 

[sherryberry79]

I am very aware that there are parents of 23 weeekers on the forum, and I don't want to offend or upset anyone in any way, but I think the documentary threw up some really important questions.

It certainly got me thinking, and I pray that it is a decision that I will never have to make. But once the doctors are working in futility, i.e. they are pro-longing my baby's life rather than saving it, I would like to think that I could be brave enough to say goodbye and let the suffering end.
Whilst there is any sort of hope however, I think I would want treatment to continue......although if there was DEFINATELY going to be a profound disability I may feel differently, it's so hard.

Also Matilda was wonderful, and after so much sadness in the film I really felt elated when she came home and beat the odds, a very special little girl indeed.

 

[AP]

It's certainly a tough one, and a grey area. I dont think gestation should souley be taken into account for a start, but everything else. I do think that there are enough living 23 weekers in the world to say that yes, 23 weekers should be given the chance, and this 'viability' needs to be lowered.

DH said he agreed and in the end any decisions should be left in the parents hands, and each baby should be looked at individually.

I can't tell you what we'd do, we'd never know til in that position, but at the very least we should all be assured that docs could intervene if we wished, and this is what needs to be set in stone.

 

[nkbapbt]

Sherry - The thing is...look at my son, they told us there was no chance he would not have a disability. With the infection I had, the fact he had a Grade IV IVH with PVL and all the meds he was given...and his gestational age. If you added up all the stats for each of those things, it would equal WELL over 100% chance of issues. We were told at best he would have cerebral palsy, at BEST. We were asked almost daily for a week to remove him from care.

We refused.

He is now two, has no issues other than a feeding tube which has NOTHING to do with the things said above. It's only because of his PDA surgery, which any preemie could get and have this result from. Its a complication of a lot of cardiac surgeries, in preemies, babies and even adults.

He hit all his milestones, he is bright, funny and doing awesome. He knows his some of his colours, he can say some of his letters and which ones he does not know he knows the sound for, he talks a lot, he loves to read, he is kind, friendly, super funny and perfect.

Should we have let him go on a what if? I guess maybe some would say yes, but it comes down to what you as a parent can handle really. The tough thing is, no matter how sure the NICU doctor is telling you to let your child pass away naturally...because of possible future issues. They are not 100% sure. I have seen babies with bleeds on their brains on both sides, with cysts and worse...who are fine. And yet I have seen babies who were born at 35 weeks with no bleed who have CP.

It's a risk for sure. But for my husband and I, we could not live with the what if of it all. What if he was ok? And yes our story ended well, but if it had not...we were prepared to deal with whatever his version of "ok" was.

Our son is not exceptional to 23 weekers, more and more are having these types of outcomes.

 

[Seraphim]

I'm watching it on iplayer now. I had no idea

 

[petitpas]

Hi, just popping in. I watched the programme and apart from the general right/wrong/money debate I was surprised that the reporter did not look at the future and what those doctors are learning by treating more and more 23-weekers. Obviously, I am not comparing babies to guinea pigs but what those doctors and nurses are doing is certainly pioneering and will help future preemies, hopefully giving them better odds on a healthy survival.

 

[AP]

What a very good point Hun. X

 

[Agiboma]

Ahhh where's that boot leg satllight when you need it?