The watcher at the OR window signals to our team. We start the Apgar timer and wait. The circulating nurse brings us our patient: pale, wet, floppy. Warm, dry, stimulate. Airway, breathing, circulation. We suction airway, reposition head and neck, count heart rate (under 60), start positive-pressure ventilation, attach monitor leads. One minute: heart rate increasing. Two minutes: muscle tone improving. Three minutes: respiratory effort consistent. Stop PPV, I say, and we change to CPAP and watch the increasingly regular breaths, the improving monitor numbers. Four minutes: crying. Try room air, I say. Five minutes: pink baby, well-appearing. Happy birthday.
Kimberly Lee is a contemplative neonatologist (newborn intensive care physician) bearing witness to life, growth, and development. Find Kim at www.kimgronsmanlee.com, on Twitter @KimLeeMDNeo, and on Instagram @kimgronsmanlee.