Related Experiment Videos
Responses of the newborn infant to overheating
Insights
Newborn babies, even preterm infants, show appropriate responses to overheating, including reduced activity and skin redness. These physiological changes can help identify infants experiencing heat stress.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Thermoregulation in infants
Background:
- Overheating poses risks to newborns.
- Understanding infant responses to heat is crucial for neonatal care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physiological responses of newborn infants to overheating.
- To assess if gestational age affects heat stress responses in neonates.
Main Methods:
- Exposing healthy term and preterm infants to increasing incubator temperatures.
- Monitoring activity, posture, heart rate, respiratory rate, skin color, and skin temperatures.
- Recording responses until sweating or rectal temperature reached 37.9°C.
Main Results:
- Infants became less active and often fell asleep at higher temperatures.
- Most infants shifted posture from flexion to extension.
- Skin redness increased, and central-peripheral temperature difference decreased.
- Changes varied with maturity, indicating developing vasomotor control.
- No significant changes in heart rate or respiratory rate were observed.
Conclusions:
- Newborns, including the most immature, exhibit appropriate physiological responses to heat stress.
- These responses, such as decreased activity and altered posture, can serve as indicators of overheating.
- Findings suggest effective thermoregulatory mechanisms are present even in preterm infants.
Abstract:
The responses of newborn babies to overheating were investigated by exposing them to progressively higher incubator air temperatures until either sweating occurred or the rectal temperature reached 37.9 degrees C. 112 studies were performed on 83 healthy term and preterm infants. Activity, posture, heart rate, respiratory rate, skin colour and abdominal skin and hand temperature were monitored. Most babies regardless of gestational age became less active, and they frequently fell asleep at the warmest setting. The majority of infants altered their posture from predominantly flexion to extension. There were no significant changes in heart rate or respiratory rate. The skin of almost all the babies became redder, and the difference between central and peripheral skin temperatures decreased with warming. The pattern of these changes varied with maturity suggesting the development of vasomotor control. It is a surprising finding that even the most immature babies appear to make appropriate responses to heat stress. These responses may aid in the recognition of a baby who is too warm.