Pediatric Medicine/Resuscitation/Environment

• Warm Environment
  • Babies who are kept warm (37°C) breathe better and have better circulation than babies who are cold.
  • Heat can be lost in 3 different ways
    • 1. Radiant heat transfer: heat loss from the baby directly into the air if the air is colder than the baby
      • A radiant heat warmer is needed to minimize radiant heat loss.
    • 2. Conduction: direct loss from contact between two solids
      • Warm blankets are needed to minimize conductive loss. Placing the baby on the mother's warm skin will also minimize conductive heat loss.
    • 3. Convection: loss of heat as water evaporates from the baby's skin
      • Newborns are wet and have a lot of surface area, making convective heat loss a significant risk.
      • Drying the baby's head and putting a hat on minimizes convective heat loss from the head.
      • Premature babies with immature skin can be gently wrapped in a watertight layer such as sterile plastic wrap from the neck to the feet to prevent damaging the skin and convective heat loss.

references [1] [2][3]