Footnotes

• Contributors Project design: JS and RK conceptualised the idea for the project, and JS, RK, JM and BPT designed the study. Ethics proposal was submitted by JS, BPT, RK and JM. The mothers of the infants involved in the study were consented by NOC and BPT. Patient and staff information leaflets were produced and circulated by BPT. Data on the infants involved in the study were collected by BPT, NOC, JS, JM, AB and EC. This involved attending deliveries in advance, gathering data from patient charts, and recording the heart rate by stethoscope or relevant research device (ECG, handheld ultrasound or digital stethoscope). Data were analysed by JM and BPT. Drafting the article and critical revision of the article were carried out by BPT, JS and JM. Final approval of the version to be published was completed by all authors (BPT, JS, RK, EC, AB, NOC and JM).

• Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

• Competing interests None declared.

• Patient consent Parental/guardian consent obtained.

• Ethics approval Ethics Committee Coombe Women and Infants Hospital.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.