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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Effect of trunk-to-head bathing on physiological responses in newborns
Objective:
To determine the effect of trunk-to-head bathing versus the traditional head-to-trunk bathing on newborns' body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation.
Design:
A prospective, two-group, quasi-experimental repeated measures design.
Setting:
A newborn nursery in an urban university hospital.
Participants:
Sixty-two healthy full-term newborns.
Methods:
Newborns were randomly assigned to two groups. The newborns in the experimental group were bathed from trunk to head; those in the control group were bathed from head to trunk. Measurements of body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were obtained at four time points: before the bath, immediately after the bath, 30 minutes after the bath, and 60 minutes after the bath.
Results:
No significant differences in body temperature, heart rate, or oxygen saturation were observed between groups. However, body temperature was significantly different across measurement times, and there was a significant interaction between group and measurement time. The mean body temperature dropped 0.2°C after bathing in both groups, but the experimental group returned to their initial body temperature more rapidly than the control group.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that newborns who were bathed from trunk to head and whose heads were wet for shorter periods of time benefited with a more rapid recovery of body temperature and decreased heat loss due to evaporation.
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