Participants described how, on some occasions, the medicalisation
of care resulted in continued aggressive interventions
and ongoing treatment, despite an acknowledgement that the
infant/child was likely to die. This was identified as a source of
frustration, distress and conflict for participants. One participant
shared. . .The motto here is ‘No fetus will defeat us’. . ..we just push and
push and push. . .. (NICU FG 18-1) suggesting that, at times, nurses
disagreed with a medical decision to continue aggressive treatment
well beyond the point at which it was known that death was the
expected outcome. This continuation of aggressive treatment was
a point of tension for some participants with one nurse participant
expressing: