Cessation of Resuscitation Attempts

Babies who show any sign of life at birth should be resuscitated unless the gestational age, birth weight or congenital abnormalities render resuscitation attempts futile.

The precise limits for gestational age and weight depend on the local circumstances; a baby of less than 28 weeks gestational age is unlikely to survive in the absence of sophisticated neonatal intensive care. A baby of <23 weeks gestational age or <400 g baby weight is unlikely to be viable in any circumstances.

Resuscitation should be stopped if there are no signs of life after 10 minutes of adequate and continuous resuscitation and the baby should be given to the mother to hold if she wishes. If the Apgar score remains less than 3 after 20 minutes the chance of death or severe brain damage is extremely high and it may be justifiable to stop resuscitation efforts

Last modified: Thursday, 17 November 2016, 7:14 PM