Professionally responsible advocacy for women and children first during the COVID-19 pandemic: Guidance from World Association of Perinatal Medicine and International Academy of Perinatal Medicine

Publication Date

2020

Journal Title

J Perinat Med

Abstract

© 2020 Frank A.Chervenak et al.,published by de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston 2020. The goal of perinatal medicine is to provide professionally responsible clinical management of the conditions and diagnoses of pregnant, fetal, and neonatal patients. The New York Declaration of the International Academy of Perinatal Medicine, "Women and children First-or Last?"was directed toward the ethical challenges of perinatal medicine in middle-income and low-income countries. The global COVID-19 pandemic presents common ethical challenges in all countries, independent of their national wealth. In this paper the World Association of Perinatal Medicine provides ethics-based guidance for professionally responsible advocacy for women and children first during the COVID-19 pandemic. We first present an ethical framework that explains ethical reasoning, clinically relevant ethical principles and professional virtues, and decision making with pregnant patients and parents. We then apply this ethical framework to evidence-based treatment and its improvement, planned home birth, ring-fencing obstetric services, attendance of spouse or partner at birth, and the responsible management of organizational resources. Perinatal physicians should focus on the mission of perinatal medicine to put women and children first and frame-shifting when necessary to put the lives and health of the population of patients served by a hospital first.

Document Type

Article

Status

Faculty

Facility

School of Medicine

Primary Department

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Additional Departments

COVID-19 Publications

PMID

32769228

DOI

10.1515/jpm-2020-0329

Comments

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