Professional care of mother and child
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Two categories of monitor are available: baby listening devices, and specialist apnoea monitors. Baby listening devices are on the market in department stores, pharmacies and supermarkets. They cost in the range of approximately 20 Pounds-45 Pounds, and can be plugged in or portable. ⋯ Apnoea monitors are designed to sound an alarm if the baby stops breathing. They are generally only used in special circumstances, for example where there has been a previous cot death. Though parents can purchase an apnoea monitor direct from manufacturers, the monitors are more usually supplied when a baby is discharged from hospital and used under guidance from health professionals, e.g. through the Care of Next Infant (CONI) scheme.
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The addition of replacement surfactant therapy to current neonatal intensive care techniques has brought about a significant reduction in the severity of, and mortality from, moderate-to-severe RDS in premature infants. Although exogenous surfactant is relatively easy to administer, its use should be limited to those skilled in handling critically-ill infants on ventilators. While its introduction has been a major step forward, it is not the whole answer to the vexing problem of respiratory distress syndrome.