Beyond sweetness and warmth: transition of the preterm infant

Abstract

Keeping babies warm and sweet after birth has been a long-held goal for those that care for the newborn, particularly very preterm babies. Add to this, adequate oxygenation and it would seem that the baby is set up for an uneventful passage through the special-care baby unit. Recent innovations have included continuous positive airways pressure, and prophylactic surfactant administration with the transitional care processes. As the urgency to lock in these measures at resuscitation increases there is an even greater anxiety that the baby is passed to the hands of the neonatal team sooner. Such pressure has always been there but are we now missing an important aspect of transition already accepted as being desirable in the term infant? Show more