Premature

Some of us have a particularly hard time getting a start in life; perhaps none harder than very premature babies, some of them weighing only 400 grams and measuring less than 30 cm. Yet children are being born prematurely more and more often, and doctors are increasingly able to help them survive, sometimes from as early as the 22nd week of pregnancy – with some never before seen consequences.

The treatment of preemies is a hotly debated topic all over the world, especially since there exists little agreement on exactly when life begins. The film examines how these infants are handled in Germany and neighboring countries and in the process raises some difficult medical and ethical questions.