[Intubation training on the deceased newborn--parents' opinion?]

Abstract

Intubation of neonates is a technically challenging procedure requiring training on newly deceased newborns. There has been disagreement as to whether informed consent from parents should be obtained before such training is conducted. In a survey conducted among parents who had lost one or more children, we asked if they would consent to health personnel training intubation on their deceased child. Out of 73 respondents, 78% agreed, whereas 6% disagreed. 60% would prefer to be asked to give their consent; only 22% thought that health personnel could perform such training without parents' consent. 7% said they would be angry if asked to give such consent. A total of 64% of parents opposed the idea of conducting intubation training on the basis of presumed consent. We conclude that parents' informed consent should be obtained before intubation training is conducted on their newly deceased child.