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Crosscurrents

When treating sick babies, more doctors are deferring to parents

A nurse holds the hand of a premature baby at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto.

Neonatal medical care has grown tremendously in the last 30 years. Just recently there’s been a change in the treatment we give to babies born prematurely. More and more, parents — not doctors — are making decisions about treatment. Reporter Jenny Gold has the story.

"You almost don't want to have that responsibility. You almost want someone to say or do it for you." - Chris Belluomini, a parent whose child has Down syndrome

This piece was produced by Jenny Gold for Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit news service reporting on health care policy and politics. It originally aired in November 2015.

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Crosscurrents healthcareHealth