RARELY can practicing physicians perform a more worthwhile service than saving the life of a newborn infant. Nothing equals the personal satisfaction derived from a sucessful neonatal resuscitation. Nothing parallels the anguish of an expectant mother who emerges from an obstetric anesthesia to learn that her baby has just died. The following case report of a previously unrecognized cause of neonatal asphyxia is presented so that other physicians may recognize and promptly correct this reversible condition. Report of a Case A 16-year-old primigravida was admitted to the hospital in active labor 6 weeks prior to the calculated date of her confinement. Her family and personal medical histories were not remarkable with regard to this report. Occasional post-prandial nausea and vomiting had persisted throughout the gestation; she also had a chronic coryza and a nonproductive cough. Physical examinations, blood pressures, urinalyses, and weight gain had been consistently within normal limits.