title: Oxygen saturation trends immediately after birth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the changes in oxygen saturation (SpO2) in healthy infants during the first 10 minutes of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this observational study, infants > or = 35 weeks gestation at birth who did not require supplemental oxygen had continuous recordings taken of the preductal SpO2 over the first 10 minutes of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 115 infants were analyzed. On average, infants delivered by cesarean delivery had a 3% lower SpO2 than infants delivered by vaginal delivery (95% confidence interval [CI] = -5.8 to -0.7; P = .01). Infants born by cesarean delivery also took longer (risk ratio, 1.79) to reach a stable SpO2 > or = 85% (95% CI = 1.02 to 3.14; P = .04). At 5 minutes of age, median SpO2 values (interquartile range) were 87% (80% to 95%) for infants delivered vaginally and 81% (75% to 83%) for those delivered through cesarean section. The median SpO2 did not reach 90% until 8 minutes of age in either group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The process of transitioning to a normal postnatal oxygen saturation requires more than 5 minutes in healthy newborns breathing room air.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. jack.rabi@calgaryhealthrregion.ca
authors.forename: Yacov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rabi
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Sophie Yue
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Nalini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singhal
mesh_terms: D001034:Apgar Score; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008423:Maternal Age; D010092:Oximetry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen