Ventilation Control in the Newborn

Introduction The successful transition between intrauterine and extrauterine life depends largely upon assumption by fetal organs of the functions of gaseous exchange, alimentation, and excretion carried out by the placenta. Of these major functions, that of gaseous exchange must be assured immediately and completely. The success [ill] operation of the newborn lung, both a [ill] ventilatory and a diffusing organ, is, th[ill] fore, of prime importance. The pre[ill] study of serial changes in the ventilatory function of the neonatal lung, of the newborn's gas exchange, and of the controlling influence on neonatal respiratory adjustments was undertaken to define the sequential changes which occur in the adaptive period spanning the transition from intra- to extrauterine life. It has been shown that the alveolar (or arterial) CO₂tension of the normal newborn infant during quiet breathing is considerably lower than that of the adult,¹,³the infant's arterial CO₂content