Why do we no longer ask whether the baby is pink immediately following birth?
A number of observational studies of term newborns have shown that, immediately following birth, arterial saturation may be less than 70%, and that many babies take over 10 minutes to achieve saturations in excess of 90%. It may therefore be normal for an otherwise healthy baby to appear cyanotic in the seconds or minutes following birth. Also, Canadian recommendations recognize that visual assessment of colour at birth is unreliable and therefore advocate for the introduction of rapid-response, motion-resistant pulse oximetry into the caseroom for those babies who require high inspired oxygen concentrations or prolonged resuscitation and stabilization.
