How low shall we go? Is aggressive care always justifiable?

There is no doubt that advancing medical technology has produced many benefits and enabled the survival of extremely premature infants. But at what cost? The Advanced Nurse Practitioner is in a unique position to forge the way ahead for nurse involvement in ethical decision-making. However, they must be able to recognise ethical problems and be capable of reasoning ethically to enter the debate arena. This article discusses some of the dilemmas in resuscitation versus prematurity and looks at the decision-making process of such an event involving the advanced nurse practitioner, doctors and the parents.