Dru Antoniuk asks for input on a paper about ethics in mental health nursing
that will allow her to explore the ethical aspects of some part of
maternal-child health in relation to women with mental illness.
She is not sure if she is biting off more than she can chew.
Dru, if you try to cover all four of the possible topics you listed right
now, I'd say you'll be chewing for a long time.  My 30 ml worth is to go
with your second point, "rights of the mother vs rights of the fetus/child
in the tx of psychiatric conditions" and explore the ethical implications of
that in a situation where the mother needs (long or short term) treatment
and the child needs breastmilk.  Leave out the fetus for the purposes of
this paper, to narrow your focus so it is manageable, NOT because it isn't
important.  Concentrate on the inherent conflicts between mental and
physical health in the mother, and between the mother's need for treatment
and the baby's need for her milk.  Every conflict raises ethical questions;
exploring the different ethical perspectives - and the conflicts arising in
their wake - of the various professionals involved in the care of such dyads
could also be interesting.
A case report could be a useful starting point for your paper.  If you
haven't got one yourself, perhaps other subscribers could send you some, off
the list, and with identifying features removed.
We look forward to hearing more.
cheers
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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