HEAT LOSS PREVENTION IN NEWBORNS DURING THE FIRST THIRTY MINUTES OF LIFE (STOCKINETTE, BONNET, HEADCOVERING).
Contributors: Indiana University.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 84
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Problem. The problem was to determine a practical and efficient means of conserving body heat of newborn babies. This research studied the effects of three head treatment modalities: no head covering, a stockinette, and a fabric insulated bonnet. All three were employed in conjunction with a radiant warmer.

Experimental Design. The data were collected from babies born at Bloomington Hospital. Rectal temperatures were taken and recorded five minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes after birth. These data were analyzed employing an analysis of variance technique, and the alpha level of significance for rejection of the null hypotheses was p = .05. When the null hypotheses were rejected, the Tukey method for multiple comparisons was used.

Findings. There was a significant difference in the effectiveness of the various head treatments. While the mean temperature decrease using any of the three treatments was less than one and a half degrees, the stockinette was significantly less effective in preventing heat loss. Moreover, although the temperatures of newborns without head coverings and those with bonnets were not significantly different between the five minute and 15 minute observations, the temperature difference of the bonneted newborns was significantly less than that of the hatless between the 15 minute and the 30 minute observations.

Conclusions. Within the limitations of this study, and particularly with the condition that all head treatments were employed in conjunction with a radiant warmer, the following conclusions were made: (1) The temperatures of newborns decline during the first 15 minutes after birth. (2) A stockinette worn on the heads of newborns is not effective in preventing heat loss. (3) The temperatures of newborns who have no head coverings is the same as those newborns wearing insulated bonnets.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-09, Section: B, page: 2869.

Thesis (H.S.D.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY, 1984.

School code: 0093.