The respiratory distress syndrome
James (1959) was co-author with Apgar in 1958 of the paper in which they
explained that at the Sloane Hospital (at Columbia University) the umbilical cord
was cut within the first minute after birth to preserve the "sterile field," and that all
infants with Apgar scores of 8, 9, or 10 had breathed within seconds of delivery.
In his paper on respiratory distress a year later, he cites delay in onset of
respiration at birth as the primary etiologic factor:
"A review of the obstetrical histories in infants who show a rising
respiratory rate has indicated that delayed respiration at birth, even for 2
minutes, seemed to affect markedly both the incidence of abnormal
breathing and subsequent." [1, p1089]
Ersch et al. (2007) have documented an increasing incidence of respiratory
distress in neonates over the past three decades [2]. They suggest that this
increase can be correlated with the increase in deliveries via caesarean section.
In progress
- James LS. Physiology of respiration in newborn infants and in the
respiratory distress syndrome. Pediatrics. 1959 Dec;24:1069-101.
- Ersch J, Roth-Kleiner M, Baeckert P, Bucher HU. Increasing incidence of
respiratory distress in neonates. Acta Paediatr. 2007 Nov;96(11):1577-81.