Neonatal infections are infections of the neonate (newborn) acquired during prenatal development or within the first four weeks of life (neonatal period). Neonatal infections may be contracted by mother to child transmission, in the birth canal during childbirth, or contracted after birth. Some neonatal infections are apparent soon after delivery, while others may develop in the postnatal period. Some neonatal infections such as HIV, hepatitis B, and malaria do not become apparent until much later. There is a higher risk of infection for preterm or low birth weight neonates. Infant respiratory distress syndrome is usually a condition of preterm neonates which will have long-term negative consequences, it also can arise following an infection. In some instances, neonatal tract diseases may increase the susceptibility to future respiratory infections and inflammatory responses associated with lung disease. Antibiotics can be effective for neonatal infections, especially when the pathogen is quickly identified. Instead of relying solely on culturing techniques, pathogen identification has improved substantially with advancing technology; however, neonate mortality reduction has not kept pace and remains 20% to 50%
