Disabled Preemies: A World Within Themselves “It destroyed us,” says 35 year old Jen Sinconis as she describes the mother of twin premature boys, Ethan and Aidan Sinconis. “This set of twins racked up about $2.2 million in medical bills in the first eighteen months after they were born” (Rochman). “Each year, approximately 15,000,000 babies are born prematurely, and 1,000,000 of those same babies do not make it home to their families” (Rochman). The responsibilities of the parents are mentally exhausting and include: therapy sessions, protective childcare, and more doctors’ visits than the average child. The families of these children cannot always take care of these bills by themselves. Premature babies with disabilities should be aided by the government in the form of medical costs, childcare, and special development programs for the sake of the children and families that are affected by this casualty. Although all premature babies do not encounter complications, when they do, they can be both short and long-term (Complications). Not only will the complications affect them in their child hood, but some of them could continue further into adulthood. Some of the complications could include cerebral palsy, heart problems, Necrotizing enterocolitis, and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (Common..unit). When the children grow older, these complications could drastically interfere with the way that they interact with the world such as going to school and interacting with their peers. Studies show that “mental retardation among premature babies is 4% higher than a normal full term child” (Warner). Even though that statistic is true, it is very difficult to find a life insurance company that would insure a mentally retarded child because “They have a higher risk of death in early adulthood as well” (Sifferlin). We should not give up on them right away because they deserve the
As physicians’, they should have secured an adequate level of care for the child. Melissa Rowland has a diagnoses of ODD, in which the symptoms and causations are quite clear in her case. As my own moral compass, raising a child with nothing but respect, grace and love is vital. On both physicians’ and government officials’ hands, they two failed to observe the consequences and neglect twin B would receive. Melissa received no options, as they held her strictly accountable of her actions. Her patient autonomy was eventually disrespected after three hospital visits. However, for all the right reasons because the children she produced were suffering internally. In my own views, it is ultimately wrong to force another individual, unborn or born, to face crucial circumstances due to selfishness. Melissa demonstrated pure selfishness through her history of mothering, lack of concern for her well being and others, and her criminal record. Though, she had the right to refuse care but eventually sought treatment, all in all her freedom was somewhat granted back to her. Melissa does indeed have a right to privacy, and the right to refuse care. Despite that, the well-being of another human being was placed into the hands of an individual who expressed no regards for justice, equality, and
Cook Children NICU receives around one thousand babies per year. Since the new unit was opened two years ago, they have single rooms where the parents can stay with their babies overnight, and it is controlled individually according to the patients’ needs. In the single rooms they are able to accommodate twins, triplets and quadruplets. According to Carolyn Cowling (personal communication, April.18, 2014), who is the LCSW, preemies have shown an incredible improvement in their health and are able to go home faster because they have a quicker recovery. Single rooms also allow parents to be with their infants all the time they want, even spending the night with them. Since most of them are there for a long run, it provides the feeling of being in their home.
The quality of child care in the United States leaves room for improvement. According to (Deborah, L., Vandell, & Barbara, W.), suggest that when low-income families received child care, mothers are more likely to keep doctor’s appointments and decrease their stress level. The cost of child care is having a huge impact on the careers of working parents and people with disabilities. According to the case study of Katy Adams is one that conveys the message of different facets of stress and, how it impacts a person’s health and well been. Stress plays a vital role in a person’s overall health. One of the non-medical problems of Katy’s Adams case study is related to denial of child care services because she was hospitalized and was unable to
A big problem that is becoming of lawsuits is Wrongful Birth Cases. Wrongful birth by legal definition is a term to describe medical malpractice. A claim that the child would not have been born if medical malpractice did not occur (Knudsen, 2011). The legal definition of medical malpractice is also known as medical negligence, this is a professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient (Dictionary.com). In most cases, this is medical error. There is now 28 states that recognized wrongful birth claims. There is also 12 states that prohibit wrongful birth claims, including, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia (Knudsen, 2011). A question that is always looked at is, What is the value of life to a parent? Does every child that is not “normal” not deserve a chance to live?
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
With the guidance of their physician, Baby Does’ parents chose to withhold medical care and surgery due to the conclusion still leaving the child with severe retardation. “Officials at the hospital had the Indiana Juvenile Courts appoint a guardian to determine whether or not to perform the surgery. The court finally ruled in favor of the parents and upheld their right to informed medical decision” (Resnik, 2011). Because of the decision made to withhold surgery and medical care, Baby Doe died five days later of dehydration and pneumonia.
Complications can arise even with a full term newborn. However, the chances of complications increases and are apt to be more severe the earlier a baby is born. Preterm complications that can arise include the following: breathing and respiratory problems, feeding and digestive problems, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and vision and hearing loss to name a few ([CDC], 200...
Premature birth is when an infant is born 37 weeks before appointed due date. Premature babies are not completely developed and not ready for the outside world. Cases of premature birth can either be slight and not noticeable or completely severe. My brother was born two months premature and had to stay in the hospital for a month attached to machines and IVs. My mother was not able to take her first child home and have a complete certainty that her newborn baby will even be alive. I chose this topic because I am very fortunate for having a strong and healthy eighteen year old brother, even though he was premature. I have gained a strong curiosity towards the effect of prematurity; how some are greatly affected and why some women go into labor premature. I want this research to let me know that I’m not taking my brother for granted. Due to my brother being premature, he is quite shorter compared to most people. My brother and I also have the same birthday. This allows us to pretend we are twins. His effect of being premature is not noticeable because he did not obtain a severe condition. With this research paper, I hope to gain knowledge and acknowledgment towards the people affected due to premature birth.
Thousands of infants are born prematurely on an annual basis, and it is a challenge in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to facilitate parent-child attachment while still providing the safest clinical environment for the infant. One significant area of research where premature infants are concerned is the effect of early skin to skin contact (SSC), or kangaroo care, between the parent(s) and child during their stay in the NICU. Although it has been found that early and frequent SSC promotes positive physiological responses in preterm infants, there is mostly speculative data regarding the long-term psychosocial effects where parent-infant bonding is concerned. An important question for the clinician working in this specialty area to find a quantifiable answer for is, “Do parents who are permitted to touch and/or hold their infant in the NICU bond with their infant better than those who are not able to do this?” This type of question is structured in the PICO model, which is one of the most common models used in evidenced-based practice (EBP). The question is structured in a way that the patient population and practice or intervention are clearly identified, making it easier for the researcher to find relevant research data using the internet and databases. More specifically, PICO can be broken down into: P (patient population or condition of interest), I (intervention of interest), C (comparison of interest), and O (outcome of interest). (Schmidt & Brown, 2012) For the question at hand, the P (population) was parents of infants in the NICU, the I (intervention of interest) considered was the ability to touch and/or hold their infant, C (comparison) was parents who were not permitted physical contact with their infant,...
Living with a child with special needs can have profound effects on the entire family including the extended family members, siblings, parents, and the child with the special needs. It can affect all aspects of family functioning, since they have to be on the watch for the child. On the positive side, living with a child with special needs can expand horizons, develop family cohesion, increase the family members’ awareness of their inner strength, and promote connections to community groups. On the negative side, this child will need time, physical and emotional demands and financial cost in order to make the child’s life comfortable. However, the impacts will depend on the child’s condition, and its severity, as well as the emotional, physical, and the financial resources available to take care of the child.
Each year, six hundred and fifty thousand children in the United States spend time in foster care (Children’s Rights “Adoptions” 1). But most people do not know that because most people are among the other seventy three million, two hundred and ninety one thousand, eight hundred and forty eight people who live in stable homes. The majority of the population does not know the faults of the foster care system, because most have not lived it. In the mid nineteenth century, the foster care system was established. Since then, there have been many developments to the system, and today it is imperfect and inadequate. All across the United States, the foster care system needs to be reformed and now is the perfect time because there is a growing number
I interviewed a woman who has a child with special needs. The child is now in kindergarten. The mother reported having a normal pregnancy with no complications. This was the second child for the mother, who has another child who was five years old at the time. The mother disclosed that during the pregnancy, she was in the process of separating from the child’s father and that this caused a moderate level of stress. At the time of the pregnancy, the mother was also working full time as a waitress in a local restaurant. The mother reported that her job required her to be on her feet for long periods of time. She was able to work until around a week before her child was born. The mother reports that the child was born around two weeks early but that labor was easy and the child was born healthy.
Sexton, D., Snyder, P., Sharpton, W.R., & Stricklin, S. (1993). Infants and toddlers with special needs and their families. Childhood Education, 278-286. Annual Theme Issue.
Preterm birth is defined as ‘any neonate whose birth occurs before the thirty seventh week of gestation’1 and represents approximately eight percent of all pregnancies1-4. It is eminent that these preterm infants are at risk of physical and neurological delay, with prolonged hospitalisation and an increased risk of long-term morbidity evident in prior literature3, 5-13. Innovative healthcare over the past thirty years has reduced mortality significantly14, with the survival rate of preterm infants having increased from twenty five percent in 1980 to seventy three percent in 200715. Despite, this drop in mortality long-term morbidity continues to remain within these surviving infants sparking a cause for concern15, 16.
Mercer, Joe. Mother's Response to Their Infants with Defects. Charles B. Slack Inc., New York: 1974.