Temperature changes during the first day of life in the North Staffordshire Maternity Hospital.
A prospective study of post-delivery temperature changes from birth to 24 h, carried out in a busy District General Hospital is reported. The temperature fall after delivery was less than expected and reflected a high level of awareness of the dangers of hypothermia. On the basis of the findings of the survey, hypothermia in the first 24 h can be defined as a rectal temperature of less than 36.4 degrees C. Those babies who did become hypothermic were significantly more likely to be of low birth weight or preterm gestation.
Johanson
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R
Spencer
A
A
D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors