Intrapartum hypoxic ischaemic insult remains an important cause of perinatally acquired brain injury in full term neonates. The risk of death or severe neurological impairment following hypoxia–ischaemia is 0.5–1.0/1000 live births in the UK (≈750 neonates/year).1 It is routine practice to commence antibiotics in these neonates pending blood culture results. However, the duration of antibiotic therapy in those neonates with negative blood cultures, is frequently based on C-reactive protein values, which are considered a marker for neonatal sepsis. However, it is not known if C-reactive protein is elevated in some of these neonates due to the hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathic process and therefore these neonates might receive a longer duration of antibiotics …