10 Delivery Room Management of the Newly Born Infant

According to WHO estimates, between 0.5% and 3% of approximately 120 million infants born every year suffer birth asphyxia requiring resuscitation, and some 900,000 of these newborns die each year, and a similar number will develop motor and/or neurocognitive dysfunctions. The incidence of birth asphyxia is higher in developing countries because of a higher prevalence of risk factors, namely, women are in poor healthwhen they become pregnant; the incidence of pregnancy and delivery complications in these women is high; care during labor and delivery is often inadequate or nonexistent. Delivery room stabilization of the newborn is the most frequent intervention in the neonatal period; however, many newborns do not receive adequate care in the delivery room (DR) because birth attendants have not been adequately trained, necessary equipment is lacking, international guidelines are not put into practice and certain traditional practices are not only ineffective but may be also harmful. In this chapter, the pathophysiology of asphyxia and resuscitation procedures will be described based on ILCOR 2010 guidelines and evidence-based information published in recent years.