Hypothermia and the newborn’s bath in the first hours of life

a cross-sectional study in which the axillary temperature of newborns before bathing, after bathing, 30 and 60 minutes after bathing was verified at an Obstetric Center. In the statistical analysis, the Chi-Square, Student’s t and Mann-Whitney tests were used, with α = 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 149 newborns were included in the study, showing the prevalence of neonatal hypothermia in 40.3% of the cases, with a statistically significant association (p <0.001) between the occurrence of neonatal hypothermia at all axillary temperature assessments. A statistically significant correlation was found between the variables: room temperature and temperature verification 60 minutes after bath (p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

It is concluded that the first bath can be postponed to favor the adaptation of the neonate to the extrauterine environment, preventing the occurrence of neonatal hypothermia.

Keywords:
Infant; newborn. Baths. Hypothermia.

Characteristics	Normothermia n=89	Hypothermia n=60	p^ * Student's t-test.*
Gestational Age (weeks)	39+2 (38+5- 40+2); ENT#091;36-41ENT#093;	40 (38+2 - 41); ENT#091;35-42ENT#093;	0.616
Weight (g)	3365(3052-3647); ENT#091;2515-4595ENT#093;	3332 (3047-3601); ENT#091;2115-4065ENT#093;	0.500
Moment 1 (°C)	37 (36.8 - 37.1); ENT#091;36.5-38.1ENT#093;	36.5 (36.2 - 36.9); ENT#091;35.2-37.8ENT#093;	0.200
Moment 2 (°C)	36.9 (36.7- 37.1); ENT#091;36.5-37.8ENT#093;	36.6(36.4 - 37); ENT#091;35.6-37.2ENT#093;	0.200
Moment 3 (°C)	37 (36.8 - 37.2); ENT#091;37-38ENT#093;	36.7 (36.5-36.9); ENT#091;36-38ENT#093;	0.200
Moment 4 (°C)	37 (36.8-37.1); ENT#091;36.5-38.2ENT#093;	36.6 (36.4-36.9); ENT#091;35.7-38.4ENT#093;	0.200

	Hypothermia n = 60	Normothermia n = 89	p^ * Mann-Whitney test.*
Moment 1	36,7 (36.2 -36.9); ENT#091;35.2 -37.8ENT#093;	37 (36.8 - 37.1); ENT#091;36.5-38.1ENT#093;	<0.001
Moment 2	36.7 (36.4 - 37); ENT#091;35.6-37.6ENT#093;	36.9 (36.7-37.1); ENT#091;36.5-37.8ENT#093;	0.001
Moment 3	36.8(36.5 -37); ENT#091;36-38ENT#093;	37 (36.8-37.2); ENT#091;37-38ENT#093;	<0.001
Moment 4	36.6 (36.4 -36.9); ENT#091;35.7-38.4ENT#093;	37 (36.8 - 37.1); ENT#091;36.5-38.2ENT#093;	<0.001

Interval	Hypothermia	%	Normothermia	%	Total	%	p^ * Chi-square test (Pearson's test).*
1→2min	10	45.5	12	54.5	22	100	0,472
2→3min	15	36.6	26	63.4	41	100
3→4min	13	37.1	22	62.9	35	100
4→5min	11	34.4	21	65.6	32	100
5min or more	11	57.9	8	42.1	19	100

Variables	Moment 1		Moment 2		Moment 3		Moment 4
	r	P	R	p	r	P	r	p
Delivery Room	-0.100	(0.223)	-0.088	(0.288)	0.021	(0.797)	0.175	(0.032)
Admission Room	-0.067	(0.414)	0.175	(0.033)	0.118	(0.151)	0.114	(0.167)
Water temperature	0.060	(0.464)	0.249	(0.002)	0.018	(0.824)	-0.108	(0.191)

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

Stay informed of issues for this journal through your RSS reader

[1] Corresponding author:
Luma Maiara Ruschel. luma.m.ruschel@gmail.com