International comparison of care for very low birth weight infants: parents' perceptions of counseling and decision-making.

Objective: To characterize parent perceptions and satisfaction with physician counseling and delivery-room resuscitation of very low birth weight infants in countries with neonatal intensive care capacity.

Study Design: Convenience sample of 327 parents of 379 inborn very low birth weight infants (<1501 g) who had received resuscitation and neonatal intensive care in 9 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in 6 Pacific Rim countries and in 2 California hospitals. The sample comprised mostly parents whose infants survived, because in some centers interviews of parents of nonsurviving infants were culturally inappropriate.

Physician counselling practices and decision-making for extremely preterm infants in the Pacific Rim.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate physician counselling practices and resuscitation decisions for extremely preterm infants in countries of the Pacific Rim. We sought to determine the degree to which physician beliefs, parents' opinion and medical resources influence decision-making for infants at the margin of viability.

Methods: A survey was administered to neonatologists and paediatricians who attend deliveries of preterm infants in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore.