At the time of birth, a baby who is delivered and is not breathing is an immediate cause for concern. But what about a baby who is not crying but still breathing? KC et al (10.1542/peds.2019-2719) share with us their observational study of 19,977 infants born in 4 hospitals in Nepal. The authors looked at the incidence of “non-crying” and “non-breathing” babies at the time of birth, whether they needed resuscitation, and whether or not they survived. Infants were non-crying 11.1% of the time and 5.2 % were non-crying and non-breathing. Non-crying after birth Non-crying but breathing babies stopped breathing at 1 minute 9.5% of the time and 2% at 5 minutes.
The authors ask us to pay close attention to the babies who don’t cry at birth but still breathe to make sure they are monitored for apnea. Being poised to resuscitate the non-crying baby is a sign in the delivery room that should cry out to you if it hasn’t before as a result of your reading this study. Link to it and learn more.
