The overnight thermal environment of infants

Thirty healthy infants between nine and 19 weeks each had skin and room temperature monitored continuously for a single night. A simultaneous assessment of the insulating quality of the infants bedding was made. The maximum infant skin temperature noted was 37.4 degrees C, the room temperatures ranged from 10.9 degrees C to 26.2 degrees C over all study infants. The insulation score ranged from 17 to 68, with the mean 33 (SD, 13). There was a highly significant correlation between insulation score and maximum infant temperature. A significant inverse correlation between insulation score and outside temperature was noted, but not between insulation score and room temperature. These findings indicate that some infants are inappropriately overdressed for their environmental temperature.