In order to identify children with fatal outcome in a neonatal intensive care unit in which only outborns are admitted, a retrospective study over a 10‐year period was undertaken. The study was limited to respiratory disorders. The aim of the study was to identify lethal risk factors and thereby the need for improving therapeutic tools. Diagnoses, perinatal history, ventilator settings, blood gases, medical treatment, X‐ray findings, head ultrasounds, echocardiograms, laboratory tests, surgical procedures and autopsy findings were evaluated. Severe respiratory insufficiency requiring mechanical ventilation was found in 777 patients and of these babies, 207 (27%) died while still on the ventilator. Fifty‐eight patients were excluded for various reasons and thus 149 patients were included in the study. It is concluded that the mortality rate from respiratory insufficiency in the material studied was consistently high over the 10‐year period. New therapeutic modalities, one of which is ECMO, are offered nowadays in clinical practice and may improve mortality and morbidit