Efficacy of occlusive wraps used for delivery room care

Guidelines advise for more than 20 years to use occlusive plastic wraps for temperature management during delivery room care but data on efficacy of different types of wrap are still scarce.

A random sample of seven different types of plastic wrap was tested using prewarmed aluminium blocks.

The most effective wrap increased the time to cool by 2°C by one-third for the core and by 100% for the surface whereas the least effective wrap led to even faster heat loss compared with no wrap at all. The least effective wrap concerning all capacities tested was made from polyurethane that contains potentially toxic and narcotic monomers. Heat and water retention did not correlate to wrap thickness.

Large differences in heat and water retention capacity warrant a careful choice of the type of wrap as some might be counterproductive. Wraps containing polyurethane should not be used.