Abstract

Meconium is a thick green-black odorant substance, which is produced in the embryo's gut at the 12th week of gestation, and then stored in the colon throughout the pregnancy. Meconium can lead to pulmonary injury by various mechanisms, which in the presence of respiratory distress and other radiological findings in neonates born with meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF), are defined as meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). Given the frequent need for newborns to be resuscitated at birth, educated people are needed to resuscitate them. In the United States, the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) is a training guideline for newborns. The purpose of the NRP is to provide the cognitive, technical, and behavioral skills needed to resuscitate neonates after delivery.Due to the changes of NRP 6 and 7 guidelines in using PPV, Tracheal intubation and suctioning and using both guidelines in Shahid Mostafa Khomeini and Taleghani hospitals of Ilam, during 2015-2019, we decided to compare these two methods in terms of infant mortality and morbidity over the mentioned years. In this study, we aimed to determine the Meconium Aspiration Syndrome in neonates, born between the years 2015 and 2019, in Shahid Mostafa Khomeini and Taleghani Hospitals of Ilam, before and after the NRP protocol change.

Keywords: Meconium aspiration, meconium aspiration syndrome, infancy