Giving premature babies high concentrations of oxygen soon after birth may reduce the risk of death by 50 per cent, according to a new study led by the University of Sydney.
Air generally has about 21 per cent oxygen, with international guidelines suggesting preterm babies should be given oxygen about same rate.
But study co-author and research fellow, Kylie Hunter, said the team examined trials from around the world and found a different approach might be needed in hospitals.
"We combined the data and found actually that higher concentrations of oxygen reduce the preterm infants' risk of death during their hospital stay, when compared to low oxygen," she said.
"So oxygen levels of about 90 per cent for initial resuscitation were found to be more effective."
After the first crucial minutes, she said the oxygen levels should then be adjusted based on the baby's response.
Excited by results
The study specifically examined babies born "very premature" at less than 32 weeks gestation.
While the researchers emphasised the need for further studies, they said they were excited by the results, published on Tuesday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
"It's very important in that it could potentially change practice," Dr Hunter said.
"More than 13 million babies are born prematurely each year, and close to 1 million of these will die shortly after birth.
"So being able to intervene straight after birth has a great potential to reduce mortality for these babies."
In Australia, about eight per cent of babies are born preterm every year, or before 37 weeks gestation, according to the latest health data.
Loading...Research welcomed
The Miracle Babies Foundation, which supports Australian families with a premature or sick newborn, welcomed research in the area.
"Every baby is precious and every family is broken when their baby doesn't make it," chief executive Kylie Pussell said.
"Anything we can do to help babies survive and thrive is really important, it's Australia's future."
She encouraged parents to reach out for support and visit their website for more information.
"Neonatal care is something that most parents never expect to have to experience and it is a really clinical environment, trying to wrap your head around all of this equipment, procedures and medications is really difficult," she said.
"It's so important that we look after each other as a community and our mental health is so important."
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2024-06-25 08:17:01Z
CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA2LTI1L3ByZW1hdHVyZS1iYWJpZXMtc3Vydml2YWwtcmF0ZXMtaGlnaC1jb25jZW50cmF0aW9uLW94eWdlbi1zdHVkeS8xMDQwMjEyNzTSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTA0MDIxMjc0
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