Ethical Decision Making in Intrapartum Nursing

Abstract

Nurses are confronted daily with making ethical decisions in practice, in which the "right" or best course of action must be determined. However, for intrapartum nurses, the seemingly ordinary nature of ethical issues means that these concerns may be viewed merely as clinical or logistical problems to be solved, leaving the ethical dimensions obscured. This has consequences not only for women and the provision of safe, family-centered maternity care but also for the quality of nurses' work environments and degree of moral distress experienced. This article explores ethical aspects of intrapartum nursing by applying ethical principles and moral reasoning to an "everyday" situation encountered by intrapartum nurses in practice. Implications for practice and the development of healthy moral communities are considered.

Nursing Practice Implications of The Year of Ethics

“…For example, parents of newborns faced with end-of-life dilemmas, or a woman terminating a pregnancy for a fetus with genetic defects, or a nurse deciding how to best advocate for a woman in the intrapartum period who's vulnerable and needs critical information to make an informed decision (Pasarón, 2013;Simmonds, 2012). The key in these situations is for nurses to have guidance on how to apply the ethical principles and framework in a manner that helps them make a decision that doesn't cause them moral distress (Callister & Sudia-Robinson, 2011).…”