Neonatal nursing can be a very rewar
ding career. However, neonatal nurses are often caring for very ill babies an
d difficult
decisions
may nee
d to be
made. This paper explores one of the most challenging aspects of neonatal nursing; the with
drawing of treatment from a neonate. A case stu
dy has been inclu
de
d of with
drawing from a neonate born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type I. Confi
dentiality has been
maintaine
d throughout, in
accor
dance with the Nursing an
d Mi
dwifery Council (2008).
d="abspara0015">To assist health professionals make these difficult decisions, ethical frameworks can be applied. Beauchamp and Childress (2009) advocate using four ethical principles to assist clinicians in the decision making process; beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy. This paper will introduce the reader to these principles and explain how they can be applied to neonatal nursing.