Objective: Many scientists have hinted that the newborn period may offer uniquely favourable conditions for assessing the functional status and adaptive capacities of infants. Thus in this study, a system has been developed for monitoring the motility and for evaluating the sleep patterns of normal and asphyxiated newborns.Methods: The system consists of a commercially available pressure sensitive pad placed under the baby, an amplifier, an A/D converter and an IBM compatible personal computer.Results: An attempt has been made to detect the sleep states of infants, normal and those with asphyxia using the computerized motility monitoring system. The first 72 hours of life has been evaluated and the sleep patterns of infants have been classified using the same method as Thoman et al.Conclusion: Although the previous studies indicated that sleep patterns may differ in hypoxic conditions, sleep states of both groups in this study did not have statistically significant difference.