RECOVER releases newborn resuscitation guidelines

The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) Initiative announced earlier this week that it has released its Newborn Resuscitation Guidelines. These guidelines aim to help veterinary teams support kittens and puppies immediately following their birth and are the first of its kind.

“These Guidelines are the product of years of exhaustive literature search, analysis, synthesis, and consensus, made possible through the collaboration of more than 60 veterinary professionals and subject matter experts,” explained Manuel Boller, DrMedVet, MTR, DACVECC, research co-chair of RECOVER, in the organizational release.¹

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According to the RECOVER Initiative, there have been no evidence-based guidelines or a clear consensus on what the best practice is to support newborn puppies and kittens as they make the transition from intra-to-extra uterine life.¹ Through these guidelines, that gap is being addressed through a structured, scientifically-informed recommendations for that first hour following birth, which is the period when neonatal patients are the most vulnerable.

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“There is evidence that more than 10% of puppies born after difficult labor, or simply even born by Cesarean section, do not survive the first 24 hours after birth,” Jamie Burkitt, DVM, DACVECC, guidelines co-Chair of RECOVER, said.¹ “With these Guidelines, we aim to provide veterinary teams with evidence- and consensus-based practices with the goal of optimally supporting newborn puppies or kittens during this fragile period.”

The guidelines focus on a range of supportive measures that emphasize immediate and gentle intervention, such as airway clearing, assisted ventilation, and tactile stimulation to help these newborns establish effective breathing patterns.¹ If a patient is a more severe case, such as those who are not breathing or have no detectable heartbeat, these guidelines will offer a clear set of directions on more advanced measures that can be taken, such as starting chest compressions as well as administering life-saving drugs alongside artificial respiration.

The new guidelines will also provide a newborn resuscitation algorithm as well as a drug dosing chat to serve as cognitive aids for rescues trying to navigate in real-time clinical decisions during neonatal emergencies in their clinic.

“Resuscitation of newborn puppies and kittens varies in many aspects from CPR in adult dogs or cats,” Boller concluded.¹ “During normal birth, mothers provide vital care such as stimulating breathing and clearing airways. But in cases where this doesn’t occur—or during Cesarean births—the responsibility falls to veterinary professionals. Our Guidelines are designed to help those teams step in quickly and effectively.”

The RECOVER Newborn Resuscitation Guidelines are available in an open-access issue of Wiley’s Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and on the RECOVER Initiative website.

Reference

1. The RECOVER Initiative Releases Newborn Resuscitation Guidelines for Puppies and Kittens. News release. The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation Initiative. August 25, 2025. Accessed August 29, 2025. https://recoverinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Newborn-Resuscitation-Guidelines-Press-Release.pdf