Managing Complications in Pregnancy and Childbirth: - IAWG

S-148 Immediate newborn conditions or problemsBox S-10Use of oxygenWhen using oxygen, remember:• Supplemental oxygen should only be used for difficulty in breathing orcyanosis;• If the baby is having severe indrawing of the chest, is gasping forbreath or is persistently cyanotic, increase the concentration of oxygenby nasal catheter, nasal prongs or oxygen hood.Note: Indiscriminate use of supplemental oxygen for premature infants hasbeen associated with the risk of blindness.ASSESSMENTMany serious conditions in newborns—bacterial infections,malformations, severe asphyxia and hyaline membrane disease due topreterm birth—present in a similar way with difficulty in breathing,lethargy and poor or no feeding.It is difficult to distinguish between the conditions without diagnosticmethods. Nevertheless, treatment must start immediately even without aclear diagnosis of a specific cause. Babies with any of these problemsshould be suspected to have a serious condition and should betransferred without delay to the appropriate service for the care of sicknewborns.MANAGEMENTVERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT OR VERY PRETERM BABYIf the baby is very small (less than 1 500 g or less than 32 weeks),severe health problems are likely and include difficulty in breathing,inability to feed, severe jaundice and infection. The baby is susceptibleto hypothermia without special thermal protection (e.g. incubator).Very small newborns require special care. They should be transferred tothe appropriate service for caring for sick and small babies as early aspossible. Before and during transfer: