International Comparison of Care for Very Low Birth Weight Infants: Parents' Perceptions of Counseling and Decision-Making

Abstract

Counseling differs by center among these centers in Australasia and California. Given that parents desire to play an active role in decision-making for their premature infant, physicians should strive to provide parents the medical information critical for informed decision-making. Given that parents do not seek sole decision-making capacity, physicians should foster parental involvement in life-support decisions to the extent appropriate for local cultural norms.