- How to identify that the baby has hypothermia
- What to do if the baby is too cold
- How to dress the baby properly
Hypothermia is the body temperature below 36º C, which is considered the ideal temperature. As a newborn's body surface area is large in relation to his weight, he can lose heat quickly, especially in cold environments, with the risk of hypothermia.
A complication of hypothermia can be hypoglycemia, high blood acidity and death. That is why all newborns must be kept warm, and this care starts right in the delivery room. The cap or cap is used to prevent heat loss through the head, which is why it is so important in the first days of life.
How to identify that the baby has hypothermia
To know if the baby has a very low body temperature, one should observe:
- Cold skin, not only on the hands and feet, but on the face, arms and legs; Bluish color, because the baby has a more blue or gray tone on the skin, due to the decrease in the caliber of blood vessels.
The best way to confirm hypothermia is to place the thermometer in the baby's armpit. Temperature below 35ºC indicates this change, which can be classified as:
- Light: 35 - 34ºC Moderate: 34ºC Save: below 34ºC
What to do if the baby is too cold
When observing that the baby has a temperature below the ideal, strategies should be sought to warm the child, with appropriate clothes, hats and blankets. Then the baby should be taken to the hospital to start treatment as soon as possible.
The baby should be observed and the doctor should try to discover the cause of this low temperature, which may be related to a cold environment and inadequate clothing, hypoglycemia, other metabolic disorders, neurological or cardiac problems, and even overuse of drugs to lower the fever. 2-3 days before.
The treatment consists of warming the baby up with appropriate clothes, a pleasant room temperature, and it may be necessary to place the baby in an incubator with direct light to raise the body temperature. When the low body temperature occurs due to a health problem, it must be resolved as soon as possible.
How to dress the baby properly
To prevent the baby from getting hypothermia, you should dress him with clothes suitable for the environment, but the newborn baby loses heat very quickly, and therefore should always wear long-sleeved clothes, long pants, hat and socks. Gloves are necessary when the ambient temperature is below 17ºC, but care must be taken not to put too much clothing on the baby and cause overheating, which is also dangerous for children's health. So a good way to find out if the baby is wearing the right clothes is to place the back of your own hand on the baby's neck and chest. If there are signs of sweat, you can remove a layer of clothing, and if your arms or legs are cold, you should add another layer of clothing.
