When pauses of up to 10 seconds take place in the baby’s breathing.

Using blue (not ultraviolet) light to reduce the bilirubin level (also see ‘Jaundice’).

An abnormally high level of acid in the blood. This can be because the lungs are not working well, because of inadequate amounts of oxygen reaching parts of the body or a combination of both.

Too little haemoglobin in the blood (see ‘Haemoglobin’).

A simple way of assessing a baby’s health immediately after birth, by scoring ‘points’ for heart rate, breathing, skin colour, tone and the baby’s reactions.

A temporary pause in breathing.

When a baby stops breathing for a period of 20 seconds or longer. It is often seen in premature babies and is due to the immaturity of the part of the brain that controls breathing. Often the baby sta [..]

When babies are on a ventilator, it doesn’t matter if they take a pause in their breathing. Once the ventilator has been removed, any pauses are more of a problem. CPAP can help, but babies may also b [..]

Too little oxygen and too much carbon dioxide in the blood of the foetus or baby. The most common time for asphyxia to occur is at birth.

This term is used in two different ways in the neonatal unit. Doctors and nurses may talk about ‘checking the aspirate’ before putting a milk feed down a nasogastric or orogastric tube. This means tha [..]