The Spring 1999 issue of Cambridge Quarterly
(Volume 8, Number 2) adds to the growing body of academic
inquiry into the goals of neonatal intensive care practices.
Muraskas and colleagues thoughtfully presented the possibility
of nontreatment for neonates born at or under 24 weeks
gestation. Jain, Thomasma, and Ragas explained that quality
of future life must not be ignored in clinical deliberation.
And Hefferman and Heilig described once again the dilemmas
nurses face when caring for potentially devastated neonates
kept alive by technology. These authors take brave steps
by publicly questioning the trend of intensive medical
support for most every American-born product of conception.
But many questions addressing the goals of neonatal intensive
care remain, and few authors have actually tried to distill
these goals.