Neonatal ventilators are used all over the world, including in regions such as Germany, Japan, and Mexico. The neonatal ventilator is possibly life-saving in neonatal patients who have respiratory tract failure. The intent of mechanical ventilation is to make a sure adequate gas exchange, which includes proper delivery of sufficient oxygen to the lungs and adequate excretory waste removal, including the expulsion of carbon dioxide. When there are insufficient amounts of oxygen or carbon dioxide in a patient's blood, it becomes very difficult for that person to receive normal respiratory function, much less to sustain breathing. Babies cannot be fed through normal means because their stomachs are incapable of absorbing food and even drinking liquid. In addition, most of them are unable to speak for themselves, breathe through their mouths, and generally function quite poorly, hence neonatal ventilators are used.
Breathing problems are typically most pronounced in the first few days after birth and require a neonatal ventilator. Neonates are more prone to infections and when their breathing capacity decreases, their risk of developing life-threatening illnesses and infections increases exponentially. One effective means of encouraging normal breathing is the provision of supplemental oxygen. However, an adequate supply of supplemental oxygen to neonates is often impossible for reasons such as prolonged inactivity, excessive vomiting, or inadequate intake of formula. For these conditions, neonatal ventilator, which involves the ventilator or other means of introducing supplementary oxygen into the newborn baby's environment, is a necessary adjunct to therapeutic care. Mechanical ventilation of newborns in special circumstances can be termed experimental or specialty ventilators.
In regions such as Germany, the increasing number of births every year has increased the usage of neonatal ventilators. For instance, according to Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft e.V. (German Hospital Federation), in 2019, around 778,090 babies were born in the region. The neonatal ventilator can be classified into two forms: tidal volume ventilation and positive-pressure ventilation. The first method, tidal volume ventilation, involves the mechanical ventilator that forces increased tidal volume through an air-filled chamber. Positive-pressure ventilation, on the other hand, involves the introduction of a low-pressure stream of air into a patient's breathing space. Although the two techniques have different approaches, both still rely on a consistent methodology of pumping air through a predetermined airflow pathway. These two techniques can be used together or separately, depending upon the needs of the particular baby and the medical condition of the patient.