Parents and Professionals in the NICU: Communication within the Context of Ethical Decision Making—An Integrative Review

Abstract

Communication between parents and professionals in the NICU is a necessary part of collaborative decision making in the provision of family-centered care. Decisions with ethical components, those regarding treatment plans or neonatal research enrollment, need to be made conjointly with parents and health care professionals. This article reviews the present state of knowledge of how parents’ input can be facilitated in regard to decisions made about their children. Research studies involving decisions made with ethical components in the NICU since the advent of the Baby Doe regulations reveal parents’ frustration with communication practices, their need for control of information, and the trust in their children’s health care providers that is required to best facilitate their input into ethical decisions made about their children.