Introduction. Mechanical ventilation is a therapy method which is used to treat respiratory distress of a newborn. The most common causes of respiratory distress in term newborns are: sepsis/pneumonia, MAS, TTN, structural abnormalities and perinatal asphyxia. Study design. Historical cohort study. Objective. The goal is to present risk factors by mother, by infant and those presented in delivery, causes of respiratory distress and neonatal outcome of term newborns who were subjected to mechanical ventilation, as well as to explore whether there are changes in the same between the three observed one-year periods. Participants were term infants who were mechanically ventilated during the three-year period – since January 1st 2017 to December 31st 2019. The data were presented in charts, in absolute and relative frequencies and the significance of differences were shown by Chi-square test, resulting in 95 % interval of reliability (P < 0.05). Results. Three-year increase is shown in number of mothers without any peculiarity in reproductive anamnesis and also in number of labors without complications. The most common causes of respiratory distress, in every year, were sepsis and aspiration. There is a rise through the years in number of newborns who had no additional symptoms other than the leading diagnosis that caused respiratory distress, but in year 2017 there is a larger number of infants with jaundice and those in the group of rarer defects than in the next two years. The usage of invasive mechanical ventilation was decreased in sepsis and aspiration. The administration of surfactant in mechanically ventilated patients was decreased through the years. Conclusion. The number and impact of risk factors for respiratory distress has been reduced by better perinatal care, and the neonatal outcome has been improved by the usage of non-invasive mechanical respiratory support in newborns.