Why is a NICU Baby’s Bathing Temperature Crucial? This Unique Tub Can Help
A newborn’s first few months of life is crucial for healthy development. Newborns and especially premature babies have less body fat to maintain body temperature, so making sure that a baby’s thermo heat is constantly regulated to an appropriate temperature is crucial.
When babies become cold-stressed, they utilize oxygen and energy to generate warmth to increase their body temperature. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, if a baby’s skin temperature drops by just one degree, their oxygen use can increase by 10%.1 Increased oxygen use in newborns can put them at risk of hypoxia, cardiorespiratory complications, and aclidosis.2
Hypothermia is also a significant risk for babies during heat loss. According to the Champlain Maternal Newborn Regional Program, neurological complications, hyperbilirubinemia, clotting disorders, and death are risks from hypothermia.2 Hypoglycemia can also arise because glucose is consumed at a higher rate during heat production.
For infants born before 37 weeks, bath time can help prevent heat loss and help maintain a healthy body temperature.
According to the AWHONN guidelines, bath temperature for a premature neonate should range between 100°F and less than 104°F (38°C to <40°C).3
Making sure that water temperature is maintained during the entire bathing process is necessary to help prevent heat loss in babies during bath time.
The TurtleTub from Catapult Products, LLC. is a swaddle-bathing system designed for NICU and Well-Baby Units. Each TurtleTub is equipped with a built-in temperature strip within the tub so water temperature can be maintained throughout the baby’s bath.
The temperature strip on the TurtleTub notifies the caregiver when the water is too cold, too hot, or just right by using color coded temperature labels so a separate, hand-held thermometer is not needed to monitor water temperature.
The TurtleTub also comes with a fleece blanket designed to help maintain infant body temperature. Each fleece blanket was manufactured with thermal properties that are exhibited when wet.
The TurtleTub also features ribs and high sides to support the infant, a convenient pour spout, and a rinse cup that is stored within the tub.
To learn more about how the TurtleTub swaddle-bathing system can benefit your NICU or Well-Baby Unit, please email us or call us at 888-891-1200.
MED Alliance Group is a medical device distributor with more than 350 years of combined medical device sales and distribution experience. Dedicated to meeting the needs of its clinical customers and manufacturing partners, MED Alliance offers cost-effective, customized sales, logistics, and distribution solutions for products found in anesthesia/respiratory, blood/transfusion therapy, EMS/emergency room, interventional radiology/cath lab, iv/vascular and NICU/PICU.
Please follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for MED Alliance product updates.
References
1 https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/warmth-and-temperature-regulation
2 http://www.cmnrp.ca/uploads/documents/Newborn_Thermoregulation_SLM_2013_06.pdf
3 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Neonatal Skin Care 3rd Edition – Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guideline. 2013; 12-20
