So far, great efforts have been made to understand the demands
of extremely premature neonates (EPNs´; born before
the 28th week of gestation) on postnatal care, including optimal
oxygen saturation, that will allow them to survive without disability.
A major yet unresolved problem is to find an “optimal range” of
their oxygen saturation and to maintain it without drops or
increases, i.e., without hypoxia or hyperoxia. The individual
sections of this paper deal with the changes of SpO2 (an estimate
of SaO2 measured by pulse oximetry) that occur before, during,
and after premature labor, postnatal factors affecting SpO2, and
especially how to find an acceptable compromise in choosing the
most effective and minimally harmful range of SpO2 for EPNs’ with
the careful FiO2 adjustment and continually monitored SpO2. At
present, the two SpO2 ranges, narrow (90-94 %) vs. wider
(88-94 %), are most discussed. However, the question of how
much oxygen is too much or little remains unanswered. There is
even a view that there is no uniform optimal SpO2 range for EPNs,
and that each newborn has its own, individually specific range that
changes due to its intrinsic and/or extrinsic factors.