TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of Timing of the First Bath on a Healthy Newborn's Temperature
AU - Kelly, Patricia A.
AU - Classen, Kellie A.
AU - Crandall, Craig G.
AU - Crenshaw, Jeannette T.
AU - Schaefer, Stephanie A.
AU - Wade, Darlene A.
AU - Cramer, Matthew N.
AU - Aryal, Subhash
AU - Fossee, Kelly R.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for the thermography camera was provided by the Texas Health Resources Foundation. The authors thank Magda Gill for data collection and Lori Woodford, Suzanne Murphy, and Cole Edmonson for administrative support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Objective: To determine if a healthy newborn's age in hours (3, 6, or 9 hours after birth) affects thermoregulatory status after the first bath as indicated by axillary and skin temperatures. Design: Quasi-experimental, mixed-model (between subjects and within subjects) design with hours of age as the nonrepeated variable and prebath and postbath temperatures as the repeated variables. Setting: Family-centered care unit at an urban hospital in the southwestern United States. Participants: Healthy newborns (N = 75) 37 weeks or more completed gestation. Methods: Mothers chose time of first bath based on available time slots (n = 25 newborns in each age group). Research nurses sponge bathed the newborns in the mothers’ rooms. Axillary temperature, an index of core temperature, was measured with a digital thermometer, and skin temperature, an index of body surface temperature, was measured with a thermography camera. Temperatures were taken before the bath; immediately after the bath; and 5, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the bath. Immediately after the bath, newborns were placed in skin-to-skin care (SSC) for 60 or more minutes. Results: We found a difference (p =.0372) in axillary temperatures between the 3- and 9-hour age groups, although this difference was not clinically significant (0.18 °F [0.10 °C]). We found no statistically significant differences in skin temperatures among the three age groups. Regardless of age group, axillary and skin temperatures initially decreased and then recovered after the bath. Conclusion: For up to 2 hours postbath, axillary and skin temperatures were not different between healthy newborns bathed at 3, 6, or 9 hours of age. Thermography holds promise for learning about thermoregulation, bathing, and SSC.
AB - Objective: To determine if a healthy newborn's age in hours (3, 6, or 9 hours after birth) affects thermoregulatory status after the first bath as indicated by axillary and skin temperatures. Design: Quasi-experimental, mixed-model (between subjects and within subjects) design with hours of age as the nonrepeated variable and prebath and postbath temperatures as the repeated variables. Setting: Family-centered care unit at an urban hospital in the southwestern United States. Participants: Healthy newborns (N = 75) 37 weeks or more completed gestation. Methods: Mothers chose time of first bath based on available time slots (n = 25 newborns in each age group). Research nurses sponge bathed the newborns in the mothers’ rooms. Axillary temperature, an index of core temperature, was measured with a digital thermometer, and skin temperature, an index of body surface temperature, was measured with a thermography camera. Temperatures were taken before the bath; immediately after the bath; and 5, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the bath. Immediately after the bath, newborns were placed in skin-to-skin care (SSC) for 60 or more minutes. Results: We found a difference (p =.0372) in axillary temperatures between the 3- and 9-hour age groups, although this difference was not clinically significant (0.18 °F [0.10 °C]). We found no statistically significant differences in skin temperatures among the three age groups. Regardless of age group, axillary and skin temperatures initially decreased and then recovered after the bath. Conclusion: For up to 2 hours postbath, axillary and skin temperatures were not different between healthy newborns bathed at 3, 6, or 9 hours of age. Thermography holds promise for learning about thermoregulation, bathing, and SSC.
KW - axillary temperature
KW - bathing
KW - newborn
KW - skin temperature
KW - skin-to-skin care
KW - thermography
KW - thermoregulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052856822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jogn.2018.07.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jogn.2018.07.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 30096281
AN - SCOPUS:85052856822
SN - 0884-2175
VL - 47
SP - 608
EP - 619
JO - JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing
JF - JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing
IS - 5
ER -