The care of the newborn baby may pose many problems for doctor. From the surgical point of view these mainly concern the management of babies born with various kinds  of congenital malformations. The  risk  of unsuspected  surgical emergencies  during  the  neonatal  period has  decreased  over  the  past  several  years  because of  widespread use of ultrasonography for fetal screening.

 Most  surgically  correctable disorders  in  the  neonate  will  present  with vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding or respiratory distress. The majority of neonatal surgical conditions present shortly after birth or may be diagnosed antenatally by ultrasound scanning (gastroschisis, exomphalos, meconium ileus, etc). This permits antenatal counseling and planning for the birth. Appropriate care of these infants requires close cooperation and communication between the NICU medical team and the pediatric surgeons.