ABSTRACT
Mrs Richardson is a 23-year old lady in her first pregnancy, who is admitted to hospital at 26 weeks’ gestation because she has had spontaneous rupture of membranes. Fortyeight hours later she goes into spontaneous labour and a baby boy is delivered, weighing 800 g (25th centile). At delivery he is making spontaneous respiratory effort with marked subcostal and sternal recession. He is stabilized and transported to the neonatal unit.
