Hospital infections can be considered under headings: 1.3 (i) those which the patient acquires before entry into the hospital but manifests after admission; (ii) those acquired in the hospital which are the true nonsocomial infections. They may manifest during the patient's stay in hospital or after dis~ charge. They may result from cross-infectior k from other patients and carriers by direct contact or transmission through the environment including equipments or from self (endogenous) infection, i.e. due to microorganisms on normal or septic areas of the patient's own body. Strictly speaking, by the above definition, all infections in hospital born babies manifesting during their stay are hospital acquired. However, the moral responsibility of a hospital is obviously far greater in those acquired by cross infection either during or after delivery than in those acquired from the mother herself. In actual practice, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to distinguish the different categories relevant to neonatal infections in all the cases.