Grand Rounds

Should We Hold Off on the Newborn Bath or Does Thermoregulation Kick In Early for Infants?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Kelly et al. (Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 2018) sought to determine whether age at first bath affects thermoregulatory status

Quasi-experimental, mixed-model design
- Between and within subjects comparisons
Participants
- Healthy newborns
- ≥37 weeks
- Newborns were sponge bathed in the mothers’ rooms
- Immediately after the bath, newborns were placed in skin-to-skin care for 60 or more minutes
3 groups: Bath
- 3 hours after birth
- 6 hours after birth
- 9 hours after birth
Primary outcomes
- Axillary (core) temperature: Measured with a digital thermometer
- Skin (body surface) temperature: Measured with a thermography camera
Temperatures were taken
- Before the bath
- Immediately after the bath
- 5, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the bath

75 participant newborns
There was a difference between the 3 and 9 hour groups (p=.0372)
- Actual difference was not clinically significant (0.18°F / 0.10°C)
There were no statistically significant differences in skin temperature between groups
In all groups, axillary and skin temperatures initially decreased and then recovered after the bath

Axillary and skin temperatures were not different between healthy newborns bathed at 3, 6, and 9 hours of age

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