The first 10 minutes of life are very crucial for a newborn infant. 1% of infants who require extensive resuscitation measures must get a rapid evaluation of vital signs, including oxygen saturation and heart rate. The way a clinician can achieve a prompt and accurate assessment of a sick newborn infant within a few minutes remains one of the most critical knowledge and practice gaps in modern newborn medicine. The last two decades have witnessed significant changes in the international newborn resuscitation practice. The most profound development is the emphasis on oxygenation within the first 10 minutes of life, with a global secular shift to using "lower oxygen strategies." However, the evidence now indicates adverse consequences from low oxygenation during the first 5 minutes of life, especially in very preterm infants (<29 weeks′ gestation) who are already at the highest risk of death. The present study reviewed the delivery room practice to provide the best and most accurate assessment of the cardiorespiratory status of sick newborn infants.

It searched PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar for relevant articles that outlined the clinical and biometric methods of assessing the newborn in the delivery room. The study explored the strengths and weaknesses of each modality and highlighted that the resuscitation team must synthesize clinical and biometric information to guide their care.

An effective and precise delivery room assessment will permit the clinical team to intervene where appropriate and estimate the risk of morbidity and mortality. No single assessment method alone is reliable. Future studies of delivery room practice must manage knowledge deficits to ensure each newborn infant can experience prosperous first minutes of life. Failure to do so will prevent advances in research and restrict the efforts to improve outcomes for all sick newborn infants worldwide.

Sotiropoulos JX, Kapadia V, Ramachandran S, Oei JL. Ten minutes to save a baby: a narrative review of newborn assessment during first minutes of life and relationship to outcomes. Pediatric Medicine. 2022;5