Journal
PEDIATRICS
Volume 127, Issue 4, Pages E1073-E1076Publisher
AMER ACAD PEDIATRICS
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-3095
Keywords
newborn; apparent life-threatening event; sudden death; skin-to-skin; delivery room
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The death or near death of a presumably healthy newborn in the delivery room is uncommon. We report here 6 cases of apparent life-threatening events (ALTEs) in the delivery room during the first 2 hours of life. In each case, the incident occurred in a healthy infant who was in a prone position on his or her mother's abdomen during early skin-to-skin contact. In most cases, the mother was primiparous, and in all cases the mother and infant were not observed during the initiation of skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. There are many benefits of early skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the delivery room. However, in view of the risk of a rare but significant ALTE, we suggest that surveillance of newborns is needed. Although many ALTEs are apparently caused by obstruction, we suggest that a standardized investigational workup be performed after an ALTE. Pediatrics 2011; 127:e1073-e1076
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