Research Friday: Does intervention prolong life?

Kosho T & Carey J (2016)

For our third Research Friday post, we thought we'd look at a recent paper that addresses a question that many physicians and parents often ask, and over which even more frequently disagree: does medical intervention actually improve survival in children with trisomy 18 (or trisomy 13)?

Research Friday: A life worth giving?

Withdrawal of treatment from disabled newborn infants
Wilkinson D (2011)

Welcome to our second 'Research Friday' post, where we look at, comment on, critique and generally tear to pieces research or guidelines that relate directly or loosely to trisomy 18. Please add your comments!

This week I wanted to look at a piece that I came across, about the circumstances under which it is permissible to withhold or withdraw treatment from a newborn baby with a disability.

Research Friday: Saving Babies' Lives

NHS England (2016)

Welcome to our first 'Research Friday' post, where we look at, comment on, critique and generally tear to pieces research or guidelines that relate directly or loosely to trisomy 18. Please add your comments!

This week, I thought we'd look at the new NHS England guidelines on Saving Babies' Lives, partly because it just came out in its final version this week, partly because we ourselves used the draft version of the guidance to argue for frequent scans when we knew that I had low PAPP-A - and therefore I'm interested in what they come up with - and partly because guidelines on reducing stillbirths are rather relevant to the trisomy community (with its very high risk of stillbirth) even when they are not T18-specific guidelines.