Should parents sit in on life-or-death meetings for their newborn? a study investigates.
NCT ID NCT07681518
First seen Jul 02, 2026 · Last updated Jul 07, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study looks at whether inviting parents to attend ethics meetings about withholding or withdrawing life support for their critically ill newborn helps them understand the medical decisions and cope emotionally. Researchers compare the experiences of parents who attended the meeting with those who did not, using a questionnaire. The goal is to see if being present reduces guilt and improves long-term emotional well-being.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If parental presence improves understanding and reduces guilt, hospitals may adopt this practice more widely to support families facing tough decisions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, single-center retrospective survey, not a controlled trial. Results may not apply to other hospitals or cultures, and recall bias could affect responses.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jul 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Parents of newborns for whom a collegial ethics meeting was organized between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2025, in the neonatal intensive care unit of Hôpital Novo (Pontoise site, France). Families are identified retrospectively from the unit's internal record of ethics meetings held during this period; parents are then contacted prospectively to take part in the study.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult parent (≥18 years) * Parent of a newborn for whom an ethics meeting was organized within the neonatal intensive care unit of Hôpital NOVO - Pontoise site * Ethics meeting organized between 01/01/2018 and 31/12/2025 Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal to participate in the study (refusal to complete the questionnaire and refusal to allow use of the child's medical record data) * Parent with a major inability to understand the study (severe cognitive impairment) * Parent not understanding French and therefore unable to complete the questionnaire
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hôpital NOVO
Cergy-Pontoise, 95300, France