[Acute fetal medicine and neonatology]

A close connection exists between acute perinatal problems and prepartum diseases of mother and foetus. Good antenatal care of the mother, and both well-established and modern methods of assessing foetal well-being are important in prenatal care of the foetus. Close collaboration between obstetricians and neonatologists is essential to diagnose the high risk foetus. Some medical and surgical foetal conditions can now be treated in utero. Usually, however, the obstetrician and the neonatologist have to decide on the correct timing for delivery of the high risk foetus and the route of delivery. Even during normal vaginal delivery there is progressive foetal acidosis and hypoxia. Despite this, with modern obstetric care, most newborn infants are well, with adequate respiration when 1-2 minutes old. Only about one neonate in 50 requires active resuscitation in the labour ward. This article summarizes the principles of this resuscitation, as well as the principles for treating some of the acute diseases in the perinatal period.