Premature infant's inability to maintain body heat
The premature infant's body is unable to maintain body heat. To prevent hypothermia, a potentially dangerous loss of body heat, the infant is kept warm on a heated bed, either inside a draft-free enclosure (isolette or incubator) or under a radiant heater.
As the infant's neurological system, skin, and metabolism mature, the infant becomes less vulnerable to hypothermia. At about 34 weeks' gestation or 2000 g (4.4 lb), a premature infant usually can be moved into an open crib.
| Author: | Debby Golonka, MPH | Last Updated: May 8, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics Jennifer Merchant, MD - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine | |
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