Which method of chest compression should be used when resuscitating a newborn?

About 10% of newborns need assistance to establish effective ventilation [ ] which remains the most critical step of neonatal resuscitation. Fortunately, the need for chest compressions in the delivery room is rare. Approximately 0.1% of term newborns and 15% of preterm newborns require chest compression at birth due to birth asphyxia [ ]. High quality chest compressions improve cerebral and myocardial perfusion. While the medical staff performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adult patients almost routinely, there is a general fear of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children and newborns. American Heart Association guidelines recommend that in the case of a single person resuscitation of the newborn it should be carried out using the technique of two fingers and when performed by two people the method of two thumbs should be the preferred method [ ]. Numerous authors proposed various modifications of the two-finger method. Recently the article “A randomized comparison of three chest compression techniques and the associated hemodynamic effect during infant CPR: A randomized manikin study” was published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine [ ], in which the authors describe an innovative method of chest compressions in infants and then compare it with currently recommended two other methods. This study was also extended by a group of newborns immediately after birth, who were simulated by the most advanced simulator in the world [ ]. The results obtained by Smereka indicate that the chest compression method proposed by him may become a staple method in the guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation of infants and newborns. Obviously, studies conducted by Smereka [ , , , ] are simulation studies which require transfer to real patients, however the results are promising. Therefore, further studies are necessary to develop new techniques of optimizing the quality of the chest compression in each age group.