Neonatal intensive care. When and where is it justified?

There is a wide panorama of disorders in the newborn infant where neonatal intensive care has been proven effective in reducing mortality. Although modern neonatal intensive care can be very costly, short and simple interventions for support and resuscitation still can be highly beneficial. In reviewing the field of neonatal intensive care during the 1980s, it becomes evident that a major challenge for the future will be to apply physiological principles of great and proven value for the newborn baby to more simple devices. Only thereby can the technology of neonatal care defined as a complex of actions-not only equipment and techniques-become justified for future generations.