HANDLING THE NEONATE IN THE FIRST MINUTES OF

LIFE: PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS

COLM O’DONNELLMB MRCPI MRCPCH FRACP PhD

The National Maternity Hospital,Holles Street, Dublin, IRELAND

European Respiratory Society Research SeminarVienna, Austria, September 12th 2009

TERM INFANTS

RESUSCITATION – RESTORATION OF LIFE OR CONSCIOUSNESS IN ONE ALMOST OR APPARENTLY

DROWNED OR DEAD

OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

DUNHAM’S PREMATURE INFANTSSilverman WA ed., 2nd ed.1961

• 28 d mortality of 751 – 1000g infants admitted to 10 NYC nurseries 1955 – 1957

• 340 infants

• 275 (81%) died

• 65 (19%) survived

O’Donnell CPF, Kamlin COF, Davis PG, Morley CJ. Spontaneous respiratory effort of newly-born extremely preterm and/or extremely low birth weight infants (abstract). PAS 2006; 5560: 331

IN THE DR, WE NEED TO

• Distinguish the dead from the undead

• Recognise that most babies are not dead

• “HURRY SLOWLY”

• Be gentle