The BBC has reported a controversial issued raised by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The story claims that the college has voiced concerns over the cost of caring for very premature babies and describes the practice of
'bed blocking' as compromising the well being of healthier full term babies.
The BBC story says that the college's spokeperson has raised the fact that many babies born before 25 weeks have long term
disabilities which are costly. Additionally, the need to treat these babies in hospital for longer means draining care resources from other
newborns with a better medical outlook.
Scientific developments have enabled doctors to save the lives of premature babies at a far earlier stage than ever before.
The charity Bliss, dedicated to the care and well being of premature babies, has condemned the comments saying it is unfair to have a blanket policy on when to care for a new life and when
not to provide medical attention.
We would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Here at ThinkBaby, we believe that mothers of healthy babies would be
horrified if they felt another child was being allowed to die for the sake of clearing a hospital bed more quickly and in order to save
money.
For more information on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, check out the RCOG website. For more about the work of the charity organisation Bliss,
check out the Bliss website.
