Responsiveness and resuscitation of the newborn. The use of the Apgar score.

Introduction Accurate observations at birth are essential for subsequent evaluation of the effects of perinatal events, such as maternal medication, mode of delivery, and resuscitative efforts, upon the infant. Without such observations, evaluation of the role of resuscitation in survival is impossible. Even with their aid, judgment is often difficult. The rare instances in which artificial initiation of breathing is an absolute necessity are usually recognizable, but there is less agreement as to degree of hypopnea and need for treatment in the more numerous slightly or moderately "slow" babies, most of whom receive some so-called resuscitation. It is hoped that the Collaborative Project on Cerebral Palsy and Other Neurological and Sensory Disorders of Infancy and Childhood, recently organized by the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Blindness, will collect and pool records of such accurate observations from 16 medical centers. Before the local division of that study was begun at