In order to bring about further reduction of neonatal mortality and morbidity, immediate and highly sensitive detection of brain-threatening situations is necessary. We investigated 52 newborns by means of 8-channel EEG recorded with normal (15 mm/s) and compressed write-out (1 cm/min). A correct estimation of amplitude of background activity was possible by both methods. For differentiation between healthy newborns and newborns at risk, the right hemisphere amplitude of the interburst period was the most appropriate. The amplitude of the continuous EEG and the interburst period was reduced in the group of newborns at risk. In the group of the most severely disturbed newborns there was an amplitude difference between both hemispheres with greater reduction over the right hemisphere. These results emphasize the importance of the amplitude of background activity for prognostication and the necessity of using 2 interhemispheric derivations for an independent estimation of changes in both hemispheres.