I am very aware that there are a number of topics that radically polarise people by inciting strong emotional responses.

How we best manage very premature babies, indeed whether we should attempt to manage them at all, is one such topic.

Many doctors who work on the frontlines of neonatal medicine have started to question whether saving the lives of extremely premature babies is in fact the kindest course of action.

Guidelines issued recently from The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says health professionals should carefully consider whether medical intervention is in the baby's best interest, and shouldn't be carried out 'just because the technology is there.’

I think this is a very valid point, and one that applies to many areas of medicine, not just prematurity.

There’s a well-known quote that goes, ‘What’s right isn’t always popular, and what’s popular isn’t always right.’ I think this is most apt. Continuing treatment to keep some babies alive can sometimes actually cause greater suffering.

Doctors must weigh up the benefits of prolonged treatment versus the suffering the young patient might be likely to experience.

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The guidelines also advise on the treatment of older children too, and it’s refreshing to see the recommendation that the child’s wishes should be taken into account.

Seriously ill children should be given a greater say in whether they continue with treatment or not, provided that they have enough experience of their illness and its treatment to be able to make that decision – for example, children with cancer who have undergone multiple failed cycles of chemotherapy.

These wishes may be completely opposite to those of their parents and this will make things very difficult for the attending doctors, but then, none of us went into medicine thinking it would be easy. Rewarding, yes, but not easy.

Read Dr Christian's column in Closer magazine every week, out Tuesdays