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Neonatal resuscitation — DIPIMC MCQ

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ModerateResuscitationNeonatal resuscitationDIPIMCDipIMC

At a planned home birth the newborn is not breathing, has a heart rate of about 80 and is floppy. The baby has been dried, kept warm, stimulated and the airway positioned, but there is still no respiratory effort.

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: C — Give five inflation breaths

Explanation lettering: C = shown as A · E = shown as B · B = shown as C · A = shown as D · D = shown as E

In newborn resuscitation, once the airway is open and the baby is still apnoeic, the next step is to give five inflation breaths to aerate the lungs, because the commonest problem is failure to establish ventilation rather than a primary cardiac event. Compressions (A) are only started if the heart rate remains below 60 despite effective ventilation, and are then delivered at 3:1. Ventilate the lungs first - it is almost always the answer in the apnoeic newborn.

Reference: Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Newborn Life Support