What: Advances in neonatal care now make it possible to save extremely premature babies, some born as early as 22 weeks. While these medical breakthroughs are celebrated, The Guardian has an excellent deep dive on how they also raise ethical questions about the long-term quality of life for these children and the emotional and financial toll on families.

Key line: “When the guidelines changed, hospital policies changed ‘literally overnight’, said Cheryl Battersby, a consultant neonatologist and one of the co-authors of the BMJ paper. For the first time, she was called to attend the births of babies born at 22 weeks. ‘There’s something quite different about a 22-weeker,’ she said. They are not only likely to be smaller than babies born just a week later; they are often physiologically different. ‘It’s like a new population of human beings,’ Battersby said.”

Source: The Guardian // https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/19/look-theyre-getting-skin-the-moral-challenge-of-saving-the-worlds-tiniest-babies