Sudden unexpected postnatal collapse in healthy term newborns : AWHONN practice brief number 8 / Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses

Sudden unexpected postnatal collapse occurs in term or near-term (born at ≥ 37 weeks gestation) newborns who are healthy at birth, have 5-minute Apgar scores of 8 or more, and then experience cardiorespiratory collapse within the first week of life (Becher et al., 2012; Feldman-Winter et al., 2016; Herlenius & Kuhn, 2013; Miyazawa et al., 2019; Monnelly & Becher, 2018). Sudden unexpected postnatal collapse occurs when a spontaneously breathing newborn unexpectedly and suddenly becomes limp, pale or cyanotic, bradycardic, unresponsive, apneic, and/or has cardiac and/or respiratory failure and requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Becher et al., 2012; Herlenius & Kuhn, 2013; Poets et al., 2011).

Nursing.