Parents' consent to neonatal decisions about feeding and discharge

Abstract

English law requires health care practitioners to obtain parents' consent before all touching of their child. However, nurses tend to leave doctors to request parents' consent to intensive care interventions, and it is generally assumed that before parents can start to care for their baby, they need to have practitioners', mainly nurses', permission. This paper reviews examples of neonatal feeding and discharge decisions that illustrate how consent can be an undeveloped concept in nursing care. Through the sharing of information and medical decision making, the consent process involves implicit or explicit negotiation of anxiety, trust and risk. Decisions about neonatal feeding and discharge can also involve anxiety and risk, and it is suggested that, while avoiding legalistic formalities, more overt sharing of information and decisions about the options could be to the advantage of nurses, babies and parents. © 2005 Neonatal Nurses Association