Saving the lives of premature babies is not always the most kind course of action , doctors have been told . New guidance says health professionals should carefully consider whether medical intervention is in the baby 's best interest , and should n't be carried out 'just because the technology is there ' . Continuing treatment to keep the baby alive can sometimes actually cause greater suffering , child health doctors said . Doctors should carefully consider whether saving the lives of premature babies is the kindest course of action , new guidance from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ( RCPCH ) says . The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ( RCPCH ) today released a new framework , which advises doctors on how to care for children and babies with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions . It asks medics to weight up the benefits of prolonged treatment versus the suffering the young patient might be likely to experience . It says seriously ill children should be given a greater say in whether they want to continue receiving treatment which is keeping them alive . The updated information provides three sets of circumstances for when limiting or withdrawing the treatment of children and babies can be considered . This can be done when life is limited in quality or when life is limited in quantity . Treatment can also be limited or withdrawn when there is 'competent refusal of treatment ' - if an older child with extensive experience of illness repeatedly consents to stopping their medical care . The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ( RCPCH ) advises doctors on when to treat children and babies with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses . It says life-sustaining treatment can be limited or withdrawn when : . For example , a child that has undergone repeated cycles of chemotherapy or had organ transplantation , 'will have more informed views about continuing treatment than an adult facing such treatment for the first time ' , the document says . But it adds that , equally , children may not have any experience in decision making and it therefore may not be as appropriate for them to be involved . Written by medics , lawyers and ethicists , the framework was published to provide an ethical and legal framework for doctors . Since the last version was published 10 years ago , major breakthroughs in medical science have led to better survival rates for seriously sick babies and children . Babies born at 22 or 23 weeks are now surviving . But child health experts said that just because the technology is there , it does not mean it is necessarily in the child or baby 's best interests to use it if their circumstances fall under any of the categories set out . Dr Simon Newell , a consultant neonatologist and vice president of the RCPCH , said the document sets out a 'better and more family-friendly process ' . 'For some , continuing life-sustaining treatment is simply prolonging suffering in the face of the inevitable , ' he said . Seriously ill children should be given a greater say in whether they want to continue treatment that is keeping them alive , the guidance adds ( file photo ) 'In these cases , an active decision is reached among the clinicians , parents and other parties to discontinue treatment rather than cause greater suffering for the child by keeping them alive . ' The better informed the family or the patient themselves is , the better , he said , and more children and babies are receiving palliative care in hospices or at home rather than dying in hospital . Dr Joe Brierley , consultant in paediatric and neonatal intensive care at Great Ormond Street Hospital ( GOSH ) and chairman of the Ethics and Law Advisory Committee at the RCPCH , said : 'This is a sensitive and challenging area of medicine . 'The guiding principle remains to act in the best interest of the child , actively involving them in the decision making where possible , and of course considering the interests of the families and their rights . 'Decisions to limit treatments should be made by clinical teams in partnership with , and with the agreement of , the parents and child . '
New guidance is from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health . Advises on when to treat children and babies with life-limiting illnesses . Says medics should weigh up benefits of treatment versus child 's suffering . Comment: Advises seriously ill children should help decide whether to stop their care .