Haemodynamic insufficiency after birth is seen commonly in babies born prematurely and is associated with adverse outcomes. In current clinical practice, a combination of blood pressure and clinical signs is used to guide therapy. However, blood pressure is a poor surrogate of systemic and organ (brain) blood flow distribution during transitional circulation. This state is characterised by increased peripheral vascular resistance and increased afterload causing myocardial depression and impaired blood flow distribution in spite of 'normal' blood pressure. Echocardiography-Doppler (Echo-D) measurement of superior vena cava (SVC) flow has been proposed as a more clinically relevant marker of circulatory impairment shortly after birth than systemic hypotension. When there is low SVC flow, several small-scale clinical trials have suggested dobutamine as the optimal therapeutic option. However the associations between SVC flow and short- and long- term outcomes are not strong enough to allow SVC flow alone to be the basis for the inclusion of patients into a confirmatory trial to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of dobutamine.