Decisions and outcome for infants born near the limit of viability.

Background: Initiation or withholding life support at birth on infants born prematurely near the limit of viability is not an easy decision, with wide variation in practice around the world. Our aim was to review the outcome of preterm infants born near the limit of viability at 23-25 weeks gestation in our institution, with regard to resuscitation decision, survival, and major outcome measures.

Methods: We included all live newborn infants born prematurely at 23-25 weeks gestation at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre from January 2006 to December 2015.