title: Apparent life-threatening events in presumably healthy newborns during early skin-to-skin contact.
abstract: The death or near death of a presumably healthy newborn in the delivery room is uncommon. We report here 6 cases of apparent life-threatening events (ALTEs) in the delivery room during the first 2 hours of life. In each case, the incident occurred in a healthy infant who was in a prone position on his or her mother's abdomen during early skin-to-skin contact. In most cases, the mother was primiparous, and in all cases the mother and infant were not observed during the initiation of skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. There are many benefits of early skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the delivery room. However, in view of the risk of a rare but significant ALTE, we suggest that surveillance of newborns is needed. Although many ALTEs are apparently caused by obstruction, we suggest that a standardized investigational workup be performed after an ALTE.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, La Conception University Hospital, Marseille, France. virginie.andres@ap-hm.fr
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Andres
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rimet
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicaise
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Simeoni
mesh_terms: D001238:Asphyxia Neonatorum / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002423:Cause of Death; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003696:Delivery Rooms; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D049590:Postpartum Period; D016684:Prone Position; D012151:Resuscitation; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology*