By Sarah Terzo
From an article in National Right to Life News Today:
“The results of a massive study of nearly 5,000 extremely premature babies published last Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the survival rate of babies born at 22 and 23 weeks increased substantially if hospitals actively treat the babies.
The NEJM study shows nearly a quarter of babies born at 22 weeks survive if actively treated; 33% for babies born at 23 weeks….
Two of the study leaders– Dr. Edward Bell of the University of Iowa and University of Iowa medical student Matthew Rysavy–talked to various publications to explain what their findings represented.
Dr. Bell told the New York Times’ Pam Belluck that at [the University of ] Iowa, treatment is offered to most 22-week-olds, and he considers 22 weeks a new marker of viability.
“That’s what we think, but this is a pretty controversial area,” Dr. Bell said. “I guess we would say that these babies deserve a chance.”
Dave Andrusko, “NEJM study shows nearly a quarter of babies born at 22 weeks survive if aggressively treated; 33% for babies born at 23 weeks.” National Right to Life News Today, May 7, 2015.
Editor’s note. This appeared at Clinic Quotes and is reposted with permission.