ABSTRACT
A low pH indicates increasing acid in the blood, reflecting insufficient oxygenation of the infant. In Chapter 1, arguments were presented to indicate that the five-minute Apgar score was the score most closely associated with outcome. Neurological dysfunction in the form of fits, abnormal behaviour or altered consciousness must be present shortly after birth if there is to be an argument mounted that later neurological damage had its origin in perinatal asphyxia. Multi-organ damage is further evidence of asphyxia, but is less helpful in determining the timing of that asphyxia.
