Placental transfer and neonatal effects of diazepam when administered to women just before delivery.

Diazepam 10 mg i.v. was administered to 23 patients (test group) just before delivery. The umbilical cord blood was analysed for diazepam and the well-being of neonates in the test group and in a suitable control group (n = 32) was compared using analysis of covariance. Diazepam was detected in neonatal blood about 0.5 min following its administration to mothers. No significant differences in neonatal well-being were detected between the two groups. However, a highly significant inverse relationship was found between the rectal temperature of the newborn and the concentration of diazepam in umbilical cord blood.