Decision-making in the delivery room: a survey of neonatologists

To examine influences on neonatologists' decision-making regarding resuscitation of extremely premature infants. A mailed survey of Illinois neonatologists evaluated influences on resuscitation. Personal and parentally opposed (that is, acting against parental wishes) gray zones of resuscitation were defined, with the lower limit (LL) the gestational age at or below which resuscitation would be consistently withheld and the upper limit (UL) above which resuscitation was mandatory. Among the 85 respondents, LL and UL of the personal and parentally opposed gray zones were median 22 and 25 weeks, respectively. Neonatologists with an UL personal gray zone