Against the background of the deteriorating demographic situation in the Russian Federation, the most important task of the maternal and child health protection system is to create measures that will help preserve the lives and health of newborns. Despite the construction and active work of perinatal centers, the problem of perinatal and infant mortality remains relevant. In this regard, increasing the availability and quality of neonatal intensive care units is of particular importance. Purpose: to assess the organization of the activities of neonatal intensive care units in perinatal centers and to identify the main organizational problems in providing resuscitation care to children in the neonatal period in modern conditions. Materials and methods: An analysis of open literature sources of domestic literature, regulatory documents and reports related to the organization of work of neonatal intensive care units was conducted. The study used analytical and monographic methods. Results and discussion: The current organization of neonatal intensive care units in Russia is based on a three-tier system of obstetric and gynecological care with division of pregnant women flows depending on the degree of obstetric and perinatal risk. Federal laws of the Russian Federation play a key role in regulating the provision of medical care to newborns in perinatal centers, including neonatal intensive care. They form the basis for developing by-laws and standards governing the procedure for providing resuscitation care, its financing, quality control and ensuring the availability of resuscitation care for children in the neonatal period. The conducted study made it possible to identify a number of problems associated with resuscitation measures in perinatal centers. The greatest impact on the organization of resuscitation care for newborns is the late admission of children to the intensive care unit from maternity hospitals due to disruption of the routing of women in labor with premature births and the lack of beds in these units. In addition, it should be noted that there is an insufficient level of technical equipment in perinatal centers in some regions of the Russian Federation and a shortage of highly qualified personnel capable of providing resuscitation care and intensive therapy to newborns. Conclusion: Despite the presence of positive trends in the development of resuscitation care for newborns in perinatal centers of the Russian Federation, there are significant reserves for its improvement.