Balancing survival and suffering: factors influencing parental decision making after periviable consultation

The objective of this study was to identify factors birthing parents consider related to potential resuscitation of a periviable infant.

Birthing parents who received a prenatal consult from a newborn intensive care unit provider between 22.0 and 24.6 weeks gestational age were eligible to participate in a semi-structured interview focused on their periviable decision making. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using thematic content analysis.

Qualitative analysis shows that birthing parents attribute their decision to a balance between vitality and suffering, with the balance point influenced by various elements. While parents described the choice they made, none reported that the information they received during the prenatal consult had a significant impact.

This study highlights the minimal impact that information given during a periviable consult has on parental decision making. Information from this study can be used to develop an improved model of perinatal consultation.