Subjects and methods Subjects were recruited at birth in the Leicester General and Royal Infirmary maternity hospitals. The purpose of the study was explained to parents and permission sought to make continuous night time recordings of temperature at two to four week intervals over the next six months. If parents agreed basic perinatal data were collected from hospital notes, and in most cases a recording of the baby's body temperature (see below) was made before leaving the hospital.The subsequent inter-recording intervals for each baby were adjusted so as to try and record from roughly equal numbers of babies in each two week age band from 0 to 24 weeks. Inevitably, some babies were lost to the study. They were replaced with others on which recording started at a later age.On each recording night the baby was visited at home in the early evening, weighed naked, and temperature probes attached. One soft probe, inserted 5 cm from the anal margin, measured rectal temperature, and other probes recorded skin temperature on the head and either the abdomen or shin. Only rectal temperature data will be discussed in this paper
The rectal temperature of 26 infants between 6 and 16 weeks old was monitored continuously for one night each week. Rectal There appeared, however, to be considerable individual differences in the age at which this pattern appeared. This paper reports longitudinal studies of individual infants which confirm these differences, and shows some factors affecting the timing of development of night time temperature rhythms.Subjects and methods Thirty normal healthy full term infants were recruited at or just after birth by liaison with general practitioners and health visitors in Leicestershire. Parents gave informed consent to weekly overnight recordings of body temperature from 6 to 16 weeks of age. Basic perinatal data were collected at the time of recruitment and parents were provided with a diary to record prospectively any episodes of illness in the infant.Once each week from 6 weeks' old the infant was visited at home in the evening, weighed naked, and data collected on the current feeding regimen, other aspects of parental care, and the health of the infant and family. Probes were then attached to record body temperature. A soft probe, inserted 5 cm from the anal margin, recorded rectal temperature and a skin thermistor measured surface temperature on the skin. Only rectal temperature data are described here. A third probe measured ambient temperature near the infant. All three probes were connected to a Grant Squirrell data logger, set to sample at one minute intervals throughout the night. These techniques are safe,' and full ethical approval was obtained for the study.Parents were asked to keep a detailed diary of all events throughout each night of recording, including feeds, nappy changes, periods of waking, and administration of any drugs. Note was also made of infant's clothing and bedding so that a thermal insulation or 'tog' value could be calculated according to tables provided by the Shirley Institute (Manchester).The next day the data loggers were collected and the data downloaded to a computer. They were analysed for technical problems such as loss of probes and only unblemished data were analysed further. For each night of recording rectal temperature was abstracted at 30 minute intervals from one hour before bedtime until nine hours later. ResultsTwenty six of the 30 subjects yielded sufficient data to be certain of the individual pattern of development, a total of 246 nights of recording. For the remaining four infants data were not available for one or more weeks around the critical age for a variety of reasons. The mean (SD) gestational age of the 26 infants was 39-9 (1 -5) weeks, with all but one born between 38 and 42 weeks and none before 36 weeks. The birth weight averaged 3471 (485) g and 13 were boys. The average maternal age was 27-3 (4-6) years. Six of the infants had parents in occupational groups 1 or 2, and seven in groups 4 or 5, a social class distribution similar to that of the Leicestershire population as a whole. Nine were first children; three had two or more older ...
The effects of sleeping position upon body temperature were assessed by continuous monitoring of rectal temperature in 137 babies sleeping at home under conditions chosen by their parents. There were three groups of subjects: (1) normal babies aged 12-22 weeks whose temperature rhythms were developed, (2) normal babies aged 6-12 weeks who were developing their night time temperature rhythms, and (3) In this study, therefore, we compared the night time rectal temperature patterns of normal babies of different ages sleeping in different positions in their cots at home. As parents choose a wide variety of clothing, wrapping, and room temperatures we were able to examine the effects of warm and cool conditions. We have also examined the effects of sleeping position upon the changes in rectal temperature after immunisation. MethodsIn the course of our studies on the development of temperature rhythms,6 and the effects of immunisation,5 we have routinely recorded the sleeping position of babies. This was determined by direct observation by a trained health visitor. We have collated data from these studies in this paper, incorporating recordings from a total of 137 babies.In all cases subjects were recruited by liaison with local general practitioners and health visitors. Basic perinatal data were collected before making arrangements to monitor body temperature at home over one or more nights at various ages.On each recording night the baby was visited at home in the early evening, weighed naked, and temperature probes were attached. One soft probe, inserted 5 cm from the anal margin, measured rectal temperature, and other probes measured skin surface temperature on the head and either the abdomen or shin. Only rectal temperature data will be discussed here. A fourth probe measured the ambient temperature at the cot side. All probes were connected to a Grant Squirrell data logger set to sample at one minute intervals throughout the night. These techniques have been demonstrated to be 976 on 12 May 2018 by guest. Protected by copyright.
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