Importance of maintaining the newly born temperature in the normal range from delivery to admission

Abstract

Over the last 50 years an increasing amount of evidence on neonatal resuscitation and stabilisation practices has led to written recommendations on all aspects of newborn care in the first few minutes of life. Much evidence for thermoregulatory management of both term and preterm infants has existed for decades and more recently research has identified new techniques to maintain normothermia in newly born infants. The use of increased environmental temperatures, skin-to-skin care, radiant warmers, plastic coverings and hats, exothermic mattresses and heated humidified gases have or are undergoing evaluation. However, despite the apparent acceptance of these techniques, a substantial number of infants continue to become hypothermic soon after delivery, leading to an increased risk of comorbidities and of death. Gaps in our knowledge remain and further research opportunities are available. However, we must also ensure that established thermoregulatory methods for which the evidence already exists are given as much emphasis as other aspects of newborn care and are implemented meticulously in all healthcare settings.

Keywords: Hypothermia; Morbidity; Mortality; Neonatal; Normothermia; Outcome; Temperature.