Umbilical cord milking may facilitate early stabilisation of both blood pressure and urine output in very low birth weight infants.

These results demonstrated a good transfer of allopurinol from mother to fetus and suggested the possibility of intrauterine treatment to inhibit fetal brain damage resulting from increased oxygen free radicals.

Serum S100B level is a useful marker of acute perinatal brain damage, and is particularly valuable for fetal distress. In newborns with birth asphyxia, serum S100B levels serve as a biochemical marker of HIE.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator produced by endothelial cells. Endothelin 1 (ET-1), another agent made by endothelial cells, is the most potent vasoconstrictor known to date. Endogenous NO and ET-1 may play a part in the normal physiological pulmonary vascular changes during the postnatal period. However, the changes of NO and ET-1 in healthy neonates have not been defined. We determined serum NO metabolites, i.e., nitrites and nitrates, and plasma ET-1 in 19 healthy neonates at birth (cord blood) and at ages 5 and 30 days. The sums of serum nitrite and nitrate (NO_x) levels were 27.5 ± 12.8,53.8 ± 14.2, and 38.3 ± 13.2 μmol/l at birth, age 5 days, and age 30 days, respectively. The plasma ET-1 concentrations were 3.9 ± 1.6, 1.1 ± 0.2, and 1.1 ± 0.2 × 10⁶ μmol/l at birth, age 5 days, and age 30 days, respectively. These changes in healthy neonates suggest the presence of active physiological roles for NO and ET-1 in circulatory adaptation to extra-uterine life.

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