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