To the Editor.

Considerable ethical disagreement still exists about the proper approach to decisions regarding treatment or nontreatment of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Multiple pregnancy births, like that of the McCaughey septuplets, has thrust neonatal-perinatal medicine in the national spotlight in the care of "miracle" babies. Critics called the pregnancy "criminal" while the parents considered it "a gift from God." Modern neonatology has been called a misguided effort as well as a dramatic success, the judgment resting on a distinction between standard of care and experimental care.

We recently discharged a female infant who was born at 26 weeks' gestation with a birthweight of 360 g. The mother was a 30-year-old African-American G₄P₁₀₂₁ whose pregnancy was complicated by chronic hypertension . . . [Full Text of this Article]