Back to Search Start Over

Hats Off for Full-Term Healthy Newborns: No Benefits for Thermoregulation.

Authors :
Lazzeri J
Giordano NA
Christ L
Polomano RC
Stringer M
Source :
The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing [J Perinat Neonatal Nurs] 2023 Oct-Dec 01; Vol. 37 (4), pp. 340-347. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 28.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Background: Hyperthermia is a known risk for sudden unexpected infant death. The practice of hat placement at birth to prevent transient hypothermia may not be necessary and sets an early standard for clothing infants that may lead to hyperthermia postnatally.<br />Objective: To examine the elimination of hats on thermoregulation (eg, hypothermia, <97.6°F) in full-term newborns with no abnormalities within 24 hours of birth.<br />Methods: In 2018, an institution guideline discontinued the use of hats at birth. Subsequently, newborn body temperatures were respectively extracted from electronic health records and data were compared from 482 infants (>38 weeks' gestation and newborn birth weight >2500 g) prior to ( n = 257) and following ( n = 225) the practice change. Body temperatures prior to and after the practice change to eliminate hats use were compared.<br />Results: No statistically significant difference was observed: (1) in the proportion of infants experiencing hypothermia with or without hat use, respectively, 23.7% compared with 31.1% ( P = .09) and (2) in the odds of an infant experiencing hypothermia when adjusting for relevant covariates (odds ratio = 1.44; 95% confidence interval 0.89-2.32; P = .14).<br />Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the use of hats on infants at birth had no measurable impact on newborn thermoregulation.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. Only Dr Giordano received an honorarium for his effort.<br /> (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1550-5073
Volume :
37
Issue :
4
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37773332
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000758