Temperature drop in normal term newborn infants born at the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur

A prospective study of temperature drop in 141 normal term newborn infants delivered vaginally at the labour ward, University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur were studied. The effect of various manoeuvres on the temperature drop were also studied. They were randomized into 3 study groups, 63 cases where the babies were wiped with dry cloth alone, 37 cases where the babies were put into a plastic bag immediately after birth and lastly 41 cases where the babies were wiped with dry cloth and then inserted into a plastic bag. There was significant temperature drop in all the 3 groups maximum in the first 15 minutes and the fall continued for 1 hour after delivery (p less than 0.001). This shows that in an air-conditioned labour ward in a tropical country the temperature fall in newborn infants can be significant. This study also showed that plastic is a poor insulator against significant temperature drop.