Ideally, a newborn baby will have a body temperature ranging between 96.8 and 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If an infant’s temperature is lower than this range, the baby is considered hypothermic. While reduced temps in infants can become serious, doctors will take the proper steps to increase the temperature and prevent complications.
Hypothermia is a medical term for low body temperature. In adults, the condition is often caused by extreme weather conditions and lack of warm, dry clothing. Without treatment, hypothermia can lead to severe health effects like cardiac arrest, organ failure, and coma.
In infants, a temperature lower than 95 degrees Fahrenheit is hypothermic. All babies experience issues with keeping their bodies warm, but smaller infants and premature babies have the greatest risk. Signs of hypothermia in infants include:
If these signs are evident in a newborn, medical staff will begin re-warming procedures.
Obstetrics staff take quick, decisive actions to increase the temperature of infants experiencing coldness and hypothermia:
While bathing is important for newborns to reduce exposure to germs, it must be approached carefully when there are issues with temperature. In this case, medical staff will wait before bathing a baby. When the time comes, staff will bathe the child quickly in warm water.