Baby at Risk: The Uncertain Legacies of Medical Miracles for Babies, Families, and Society (Capital Currents) [Hardcover]

Ruth Levy Guyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2006

Baby at Risk explores the growing phenomenon of "miracle" births and infants born with major medical problems that threaten or impair their health for life. The book examines the new assisted-reproduction technologies that are producing their share of miracle babies---but also a burgeoning population of imperiled newborns. Then there are the neonatal intensive care rescues that keep extremely premature and critically ill babies alive---some to live healthy lives, but others to face a bleak lifetime during which their families must care for them. Baby at Risk asks some very hard questions: whether some high-tech rescues serve the best interests of babies, their families, and the wider social good---or are they just satisfying the contemporary and ever-increasing Western passion for using expensive technologies? And, who are the key people who should be making decisions about imperiled newborns? Like the Terry Schiavo debate, these issues affect not only the patients, their families, and health workers, but also the government, media, and society at large. Through extensive interviews with parents and medical and nursing staff, and an exploration of ethical principles that guide deliberations about medical decisions, Baby at Risk examines the dilemmas that at-risk babies raise, considers the responses of those who care for and about babies, and proposes strategies for more effective and balanced decision-making in the uncertain world of imperiled newborns.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Guyer discusses long-term outcomes, children with impairments, and the ethics of offering, or not offering, palliative care as an option for marginally viable infants. Guyer gets up close and personal, and interviews key players who are asking moral questions around neonatal medicine. --Advances in Neonatal Care

About the Author

Ruth Levy Guyer is a respected science writer, bioethics professor at Haverford College, and a regular commentator on National Public Radio's weekend edition of All Things Considered. She has taught and written about birth, pregnancy, new reproductive technologies, cloning, genetic engineering, and many other related medical, bioethical, and social justice issues involving babies and their families. Her articles and reviews have been published in a variety of publications, including Science Magazine, the American Journal of Public Health, the American Journal of Bioethics, The Washington Post, Wilson Quarterly, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Ruth lives with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland. They have two grown daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Capital Books; 1 edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933102268
• ISBN-13: 978-1933102269
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I'd had this book!, November 7, 2006

By 

Jeff Stimpson "author of Alex: The Fathering ... (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby at Risk: The Uncertain Legacies of Medical Miracles for Babies, Families, and Society (Capital Currents) (Hardcover)

An outstanding, objective look at NICU history and philosophy, and a highly recommended backgrounder for anybody with a baby in the NICU or who works in a NICU. Once again, I wish I'd had it when my son was born, and I also wish I'd written it!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fair and Accurate, November 10, 2006

By 

Preemie Mom (Grand Rapids, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby at Risk: The Uncertain Legacies of Medical Miracles for Babies, Families, and Society (Capital Currents) (Hardcover)

As a mother to two preemies, born at 25 weeks gestation, I found Ms. Guyer's book to be an accurate portrayal life in the NNICU and life after the NNICU. The majority of preemies do end up disabled. The outcomes presented in this book are accurate portrayals of the vast majority of children who are born with Extremely Low Birth Weights. All parents-to-be, especially those who are at risk of delivering prematurely should read this book. It should be required reading for every medical student and resident.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A NICU Nurse Responds, August 29, 2008

By 

P. M. Glass "NICU RN" (VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baby at Risk: The Uncertain Legacies of Medical Miracles for Babies, Families and Society (Capital Currents) (Paperback)

I was looking for a book on bioethics as I was writing an assingment for graduate school. I thought that this book would be anti-NICU but it really wasn't. I take issue with one review that gathers ALL NICU personel into one lump in taking care of these tiniest of tinies. I agree though, that just because we can, doesn't mean we should..HOWEVER, that being said, I am a NICU nurse not because I want to heroically save every tiny person that is born into this world, but to help these little ones in their greatest time of need. Don't fool yourselves into thinking that doctors and nurses make all the decisions for these preemies. Parents who refuse to let go do exist! Parents who have struggled to get pregnant and then want everything done...do exist. Parents who believe that because they are in the UNITED STATEs we can cure anything do exist. So while, we do go to extremes at times...it is never without thought, deliberation and might I add prayer. No one wants a baby to suffer..no one wants a parent or sibling to suffer ..that is never the intent of NICU care... say what you want...we do good things...and faced with the dilemma of NICU care or not..when it is an emergency..there is not a parent in the world who would not say "do something." This is quite different from those who know ahead of time that the infant will not make it...has a major lethal defect or is too little to live well...then I believe that perinatal hospice is the way to go...In the short 10 years or so since some of these children were born..there is no longer the secrecy of treatment..parents are well aware of each step along the way...given a chance for informed consent..and can and DO make decision in their childrens care....that being said..I thought the book was good, objective for its time, and through..and I WOULD and have recommended it for read in my own NICU.