Ethical Issues In Nursing

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In the labor and delivery department there was a 28-year-old woman, D.H., gravida 2, para 1, aborta 0. She arrived due to abdominal and pelvic pain for two days, she is pregnant with a son 38 weeks gestational. While in our care she started her contractions and made her way to 3 centimeters with 60% effacement; this was putting D.H. in early stages of labor. When reviewing her files it came to the healthcare staff’s attention that she was a Jehovah Witness. This is an important factor she has expressed that she wants an all-natural birth and that she will not receive any blood transfusions. There are many risks when taking care for a patient with these spiritual beliefs. They do not accept donor blood because they say that blood represents life and only God is the giver of life. With this refusal there are a lot of legal papers that must be signed by the patient with witnesses, notifying that there is a refusal for any blood transfusions. Due to this the nurse and physician must take carful actions making sure that she loses the least amount of blood as possible. Taking constant checks making sure that if there were to be any postpartum hemorrhages that it is caught as soon…show more content…
When it comes to the newborn there is a far weaker legal provision due to the need to protect the child against danger even if the family has beliefs that they want to deny what could help that child survive. The fetus’s rights are still undetermined and the rarity of diseases that would require a blood transfusion or an intra-uterine transfusion makes that this is very unlikely to be seen by most obstetricians. When it comes to a person’s own rights if it goes against medical advice than they can refuse anything and the healthcare must respect their beliefs. Whereas, if the patient is not of age to make that decision it is not as clear as what is legally and ethically

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