The Ideal and Real of Breastfeeding, Essay Example

All three of these cases involve ethical cases involved with medical expenditure:  In the case of “Baby X”, a baby is born with numerous health problems and little chance to live on; the case of “Annie O” involved a woman with numerous health problems who was going to have a child; the last case involved the free distribution of baby formula that was thought to be nutritionally inferior to breast milk (Capper et al., 2002).

There is a common analytical thread that runs through these three cases: commercial interests.  In the first two cases, individuals with sub-optimal chances of survival are using precious resources that could be allocated elsewhere.  Baby X has little chance of making it to his first birthday, and yet the hospital has spent over $300,000 trying to save him; Annie has suffered from numerous problems, but now she faces a greater challenge in being pregnant (Capper et al., 2002).

Although these cases present hard decisions, there is little to be done. That is, it is not ethical to simply the pull the plug on these two, cutting them off from needed health care. The only ethical plan of action is to communicate with the mother of Baby X regarding the prospects and pain of her son’s life and to endure Annie’s attitude while giving her the information possible to make an educated decision.  The last case involving baby formula is clearer cut.  The hospital is under no mandate to give the formula out rather than encourage breastfeeding; this is clearly a case of commercial interests trumping evidence-based practice.

Overall, while there are no easy an answer to these complicated cases, communication is likely the key to help guide patient decisions in the first two cases. In the latter case, the hospital must simply make a decision regarding whose interests it must ultimately serve.