Abstract

BADNER, Abraham  and  QUIROZ, Karina. Skin to skin contact and the new born thermoregulation. Rev. bol. ped. [online]. 2002, vol.41, n.2, pp.67-70. ISSN 1024-0675.

Newborn go through several adaptation changes after birth, one of them being thermal regulation. The object of this study was to determine if the newborn’s immediate contact with his mother influences, in any way, changes in his body’s temperature. Healthy, vaginal delivered, weighing over 2,500 g, full-term newborns were included in this study. 66 newborns were included, distributed in two groups. Group A: those who had immediate contact with their mother. Group B: those who had none. At the end of the study there where 60 newborns, 30 in each group. All of them had their temperature taken at 15 minutes, 2 and 4 hours after the birth. Group A showed ascending temperature of 36ºC, 36.2ºC and 36.7ºC, each time. Those in group B showed descending temperature of 37ºC; 36,2ºC and 36ºC respectively. We therefore conclude that immediate skin to skin contact of the newborn with his mother improves his thermal adaptation.

Keywords : new born; thermoregulation; skin to skin contact.