A Research Program to Examine Evidenced-Based Practices in Newborn Thermoregulation

Background: Thermoregulation is a critical component of neonatal care. Practices surrounding thermoregulation have not been re-tested though the frontier of viability has markedly changed. Maintaining a neutral thermal environment (NTE) is one foundation of care for this population. There is no easy way to determine whether an infant is in his or her NTE. Rather clinicians have extrapolated data from historical studies that have determined the correlation between O2 consumption, rectal temperature, and skin temperature. These studies were conducted on infants that did not reflect the demographics of the infant p…