Respiration becomes shallow and slow and the heart-beat decreases. Sclerema hardening of skin with redness develops mainly on the back and the limbs. The face can also become bright red. All infants are at risk for cold stress particularly within the first 12 hours of life. There are four mechanisms for heat loss, conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation.
Conduction involves heat transfer from one object to another by actual contact.
Examples of conduction include a cold mattress or scale in which if contact were to occur would be causative in heat loss for the infant. Conversely, if a warmed mattress or scale would come into contact with an infant it would cause heat gain. Convection involves heat loss or gain by air motion. An example of convection related heat loss would be a cool breeze. An example of a convection related heat gain would be the warm air currents in a heated isolette.