ABSTRACT
After most deliveries, the baby, if the mother wishes, will normally be delivered onto the mother’s abdomen and should be dried and well covered with a warm towel. The cord is clamped and cut when appropriate, depending on the management of the third stage of labour or according to the mother’s wishes. Respiratory depression is more common in the preterm infant, but may occasionally occur unexpectedly in term births with no obvious predisposing condition. After being dried, the baby should be placed in a clean dry warm towel under a radiant heater. The heart rate should be determined by listening to the heart with a stethoscope. Babies who have suffered acute or chronic fetal distress may pass meconium. They may also have been stimulated to gasp prior to or during delivery and therefore may inhale meconium. If liquor is only lightly stained with meconium, and there are no other signs of fetal distress, baby is unlikely to have inhaled meconium.
