Midwifery Care Routines and Prevention of Heat Loss in the Newborn: A Study in Zambia

Christensson, Kyllike; Ransjö-Arvidson, A B; Kakoma, C; Lungu, Florence; Darkwah, G; Chikamata, Davy M.; Sterky, G

doi:10.1093/tropej/34.5.208-a

Cited by 45 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…[11][12][13][14]16,20,[58][59][60] Few studies have addressed aspects surrounding the birth and postpartum care that can put the newborn at risk for hypothermia. 9,16,57,61 In one village-based study in India, 11% of 189 neonates were found to be hypothermic (<35.6 1C) based on a single temperature reading taken within the first 24 h after birth. Only 58% of newborns were wiped soon after delivery, the head was covered in 59% in winter and 11% in summer, no baby was kept skin-to-skin, and the room temperature was <24 1C in 41% of households.…”

Section: Pathophysiology Of Neonatal Hypothermiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…57,84,85 Health providers had insufficient knowledge regarding the physiology of thermoregulation in newborns, methods of correct measurement of temperature, definition of neonatal hypothermia, prevention and management of hypothermia and its associated risks. 84,85 Moreover, correct knowledge did not always translate into practice or institutional policies.…”

Section: Care In Health Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6,18 Proper wiping and drying was found to prevent significant drops in temperature in the first 2 h after birth. 57 Head caps, especially woolen ones, are recommended for all babies, and the infant should be dressed and wrapped warmly when not in the Neonatal hypothermia V Kumar et al skin-to-skin position. 95 The newborn should be properly wrapped, 88 and tight swaddling is not recommended due to possible adverse effects.…”

Section: Recognition Of Hypothermia Measurement and Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Neonatal hypothermia in low resource settings: a review

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Hypothermia is increasingly recognized as a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in resource poor settings. High prevalence of hypothermia has been reported widely from warmer high mortality regions of Africa and South Asia. The World Health Organization recognizes newborn thermal care as a critical and essential component of essential newborn care; however, hypothermia continues to remain under-documented, under-recognized and under-managed.Objective: This review aims to provide a thorough patho-physioepidemiological discussion of neonatal hypothermia applied to local risk factors within the developing country context with particular emphasis on prevention, recognition and management.Method: All available published literature on neonatal hypothermia relevant to resource poor settings were reviewed. Studies from the developing country settings were primarily reviewed for epidemiology, domiciliary risk factors as well as potential interventions for thermal care.Result and Discussion: Functional integrity and efficiency of biological systems is critically dependent on an optimal and very narrow range of core body temperature. Risk factors for neonatal hypothermia differ markedly within low resource settings. A combination of physiological, behavioral and environmental factors universally put all newborns, irrespective of birth weight, at risk of hypothermia. The knowledge deficit along the continuum from health providers to primary care givers has sustained the silent epidemic of hypothermia. The challenges of recognition, understanding of local risk factors and communication have meant a lack of informed thermal care for newborns. Simple, feasible interventions exist, but need to be applied, based on local risk factors that disrupt the warm chain. Further research is needed to document local risk factors, develop better techniques for recognition, evaluation of thermal care within essential newborn care and communication strategies for program effectiveness. Keywords: hypothermia; skin-to-skin care; warm chain; community; newborn; neonatal health Introduction 'If a definition of life were required, it must be most clearly on that capacity, by which the animal preserves its proper heat under the various degrees of temperature of the medium in which it livesy a few degrees of increase or diminution of the heat of the system, produces disease and death' said James Currie some two centuries ago, recognizing the central importance of temperature regulation in health. 1 Although folklore associated with increased temperature or fever has been recorded throughout history across virtually every culture and civilization, a recognition of hypothermia and its clinical significance, particularly for newborn health is a relatively recent advance. 1,2 Moreover, progress toward thermal care of newborns in developed countries has far outstripped knowledge and practice in developing country settings, where 99% of global neonatal deaths occur. 3,4 Hypothermia during the newborn period is widely regarded as a...

show abstract

Section: Pathophysiology Of Neonatal Hypothermiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Care In Health Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recognition Of Hypothermia Measurement and Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neonatal hypothermia in low resource settings: a review

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a hospital-based study in Nepal, for example, 85% of newborns in a Maternity Hospital had a temperature below 361C within 2 h of birth. 22 Moreover, in hospital-based studies in Ethiopia, 23 Zambia, 24 and Zimbabwe, 25,18 neonatal hypothermia affected one-half to two-thirds of newborns, and in a seven-country study, a pervasive lack of knowledge and practice regarding thermal care of newborns was documented, 25 indicating the global nature of the problem. Little other data are available on hypothermia in the home in developing countries.…”

Section: Newborn and Maternal Hypothermiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction of community-based skin-to-skin care in rural Uttar Pradesh, India

Darmstadt

Kumar²,

Yadav³

et al. 2006

J Perinatol

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…A classic study from Dakar, Senegal found only 5 in 78 babies with a temperature over 36°C [24]. All identified studies from Africa to date are hospital based, report poor newborn practices and high prevalences of newborn hypothermia ranging from 44% to 69% in Zambia [25,26] to 53% in Ethiopia [27], 62% to 68% in Nigeria [28], and 85% in Zimbabwe [29]. Large studies from other countries confirm the global tendency for newborn hypothermia in different climate conditions, from Asia (China) (cited in [30]), [31], the Middle East (Iran) [32,33] and South America (Brazil) [34].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%