How to Think about Discontinuing Tube Feeding a Parent

By Emily Carton, MA, LISW

My mother has been in a nursing home for sixteen years. She is in a semi vegetative state. She does not recognize my sister or me and is tube fed. We are struggling as to whether we should consider discontinuing the feeding.

The situation that you describe is a very painful and difficult one with no easy Answers, especially if your mother has no advanced directives to guide your decision.

There are several steps you need to take. First, find out if it is possible in the state where your mother resides, or if the discontinuation of tube feeding has legal precedence.

Second, assuming that either you or someone in your family has guardianship you need to make certain that the legal guardian has the authority to make health care decisions.

The next step is to discuss your wishes with your mother's physician as to his/her position. Finally, you need to discuss and understand if the nursing home has objections that are stated in their policy.

In essence, all interested parties need to be in agreement to prevent an adversarial situation. If the nursing home does not want to assist, but the physician and family members wish to proceed you have the option of either moving your mother to a facility that will assist you or you can bring your mother home with nursing care.

Most important you need to think carefully about your decision, make certain that your mother's situation in not going to improve and that the feeding is merely keeping her alive and not contributing to an enhancement of her quality of life. The physicians involved can guide you in this area.

You might also want to suggest that all interested parties contact Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). They are a national consumer engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life, providing free resources to help people make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis.

Brochures and information on end-of-life topics including advance care planning, caregiving, hospice and palliative care and grief and loss are available by visiting www.caringinfo.org or by calling their Help Line at 800-658-8898. Their Spanish-speaking line can be reached at 877-658-8896.