A comparison of temperature in VLBW infants swaddled versus unswaddled in a double-walled incubator in skin control mode.
OBJECTIVE
To determine differences in temperature for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants when swaddled and unswaddled in heated, double-walled incubators.


METHODS
A crossover design was used with infants receiving both the swaddled and unswaddled conditions.


METHODS
15 very low birth weight infants (< 1,500 gms) with postconceptional ages of 29.1 +/- 1.5 weeks.


METHODS
Infant temperature in swaddled and unswaddled conditions.


RESULTS
Abdominal temperatures during swaddling were 0.2 degree C higher than the unswaddled condition. In the swaddled condition, infants required a lower incubator temperature (mean = 26.9 +/- 0.4) than when unswaddled (mean = 29.8 +/- 0.5).
Short
M A
MA
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D003020:Clothing; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007186:Incubators, Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D017283:Neonatal Nursing; D011446:Prospective Studies