Special Care Baby Unit ( Scbu )

 Warm, attentive care, especially during the first year of life, helps babies to gain a sense that the world is a safe and

Optimizing the thermal environment has proven significant for improving the chances of survival for small infants. Understanding the basic physiologic principles and current methodology of thermoregulation is important in the clinical care of these tiny infants.

Reflective practice in nursing is the process where we examine our nursing ability’s and practice in order to critically think and analyze the way we work and think about the views of others in our practice, what we could have done and we could have achieved a greater result by doing this also allows us as nurses to include best practice and use our own judgment in patient care to show the factors that either aid and hinder nurse to patient relationship. (Lowenstein, Bradshaw and Fuszard, 2001) described reflecting in nursing practice “the nurse must first come to understand what he or she defines as ideal practice”.

After the delivery, the heat from the mom’s body can warm the baby and maintains the baby’s body temperature. For instance, when nursing students were at the operating room at Saint Peter’s Hospital during the C-section delivery, as soon as the baby was out, the doctor placed the newborn on the mother’s chest. When the mother was alert and awake during the C-section made it possible for the baby to stay on her chest on the first hours after the birth. It was one of the most beautiful moments in life. Nevertheless, there was another C-section birth of diabetic mother. She was not fully awake during the C-section and the doctor only did not promote skin-to-skin mother and the newborn. The doctors and nurses at Saint Peter’s Hospital support and encourage skin-to-skin for mother and newborn right after the birth if there is no complication on mother or baby or when the condition is possible. Saint Peter’s Hospital has policy for vaginal delivery, “all infants that meet the criteria for initiate skin-to-skin care shall have skin-to-skin care implemented as the standard of care immediately after birth and as needed thereafter regardless of feeding preference”. They promote skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately after delivery. However, mothers and babies have a physiologic need to be together during the minutes, hours, and days following birth, and this time together significantly improves maternal and newborn outcomes.

I returned to the recovery ward, my patient was still hypertensive and tachycardic and I felt by assessing her non-verbal signals of communication that she was still in great discomfort. After 15 minutes of no improvement I returned to theatre to see the anaesthetist, I explained that I was not happy with the patient’s level of pain and requested that he come to the recovery ward to assess the patient. He reluctantly came to the recovery ward and after spending a few minutes assessing the patient agreed that she was in an unacceptable level of pain and prescribed a further 5mg of morphine which I duly gave to the patient in 2.5mg increments. After this the patients heart rate and blood pressure decreased to pre operative levels, she seemed to be more relaxed and eventually fell asleep. After a further period of time spent continually reassessing the patient and when I was satisfied she was comfortable and haemodynamically stable I discharged the patient back to the ward.

Premature babies typically have underdeveloped respiratory systems and problems maintaining body heat, so they may be kept on a respirator or in an incubator. Although the neonatal period is the first month after birth, these nurses often care for children up to age 2 who have long-term medical issues. While their primary focus is the health of the babies, neonatal nurses obviously will spend a lot of time with anxious parents who are visiting their children in the NICU and must be able to calmly and clearly explain the babies illnesses and treatment, as well as involve the parents in their

The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the core temperature of the human body. This organ which is located above the brainstem ensures that the body is kept at a temperature between 97.5 and 98.9 °F (36.4°C and 37.2°C). Small proteins known as pyrogens can stimulate prostaglandin release in the body and increase body temperature beyond this range. 1 These increases can be medication induced or due to other underlying pathophysiology. An increase beyond this temperature range can be classified as a fever. In infants, the gold standard for classification of a fever is a rectal temperature greater than 100.4°F. It is important to treat fever in an appropriate manner because infants with elevated body temperatures are at an increased risk of having febrile seizures especially if they have a history of these episodes. Acetaminophen is an over the counter medication that can be used to reduce fever in patients by inhibiting cyclooxygenase.

Your baby who is younger than 3 months has a fever of 100°F (38°C) or higher.

As a newborn child is brought into the world through labor and delivery, the newborn must adapt to a whole new world of learning and self-discovery. The child was accustomed to hearing the rhythm of the mother’s heartbeat constantly and now, the child will only hear it for feeding and coddling. The child also must adapt to eating and breathing independently and self-adjust to temperatures of different areas. Prenatal care that was excellent throughout the pregnancy suggest an appropriate adaptation to the bright, fascinating world as a newborn.

The processes involving the newborn 's transition from intrauterine life to extrauterine life is both an arduous and delicate balance that illuminates the adaptability of the human body. The physiologic changes that occur involve most major organ systems which include, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and integumentary systems. Additionally, a major challenge associated with this transition is the mechanism of thermoregulation. This transition is aided by a drastic increase in epinephrine and norepinephrine which provides a sufficient boost allowing the fetus to move from intrauterine to extrauterine.

(2011). Comparison of Radiant Warmer Care and Kangaroo Mother Care Shortly after Birth on the Neurobehavioral Responses of the Newborn. Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 3(1), 53-55. Retrieved from

The high lights of this month were when I witnessed a vaginal birth of a healthy baby girl. Shortly after the baby's vaginal birth the baby was evaluated for its ability to adapt and transition normally to life outside the uterus. The baby was transported to a warming unit with a radiant heat source. The baby (now officially called a neonate) is dried of all moisture, which helps to minimize the loss of its core temperature. The nose and mouth of the baby are suctioned to clear the baby of all secretions and to aid in its first breathing efforts. The baby should begin crying within the first 30 seconds to one minute of life. To accomplish this, gentle stimulation is usually required and accomplished by rubbing the baby's back or gently stimulating

The study, published in the Environmental Health Perspectives linked 223,375 births at 12 clinical centers throughout the US to hourly temperature records for the region surrounding each center. Knowing each women will have varying degrees of what constitutes too hot or too cold, the researchers defined extreme cold temperatures as below the 10th percentile of average temperatures, and defined extreme heat as above the 90th percentile. Although it isn’t clear why extreme temperatures may cause preterm risk or delivery, they speculate the stress of extreme temperatures could impede the development of the placenta or alter blood flow to the uterus, which could lead to early labor.

An intravenous fluid of 10% Glucose was commenced at 60mls/kg/day. His urine output was measured by weighing wet nappies. Although there are many benefits of using humidity for the care of ELBW infants, one risk to using humidity is a delay in the maturation of the skin barrier. Agren et al (2006) showed that transepidermal water losses were decreased in infants nursed at 75% as opposed to 50% humidity levels which leaves the baby with immature skin for longer and may allow introduction of bacteria through the skin which explains why there is a higher incidence of infection in infants cared for with higher humidity levels. Studies revealed that Caleo incubators had hot and cold spots; those in ≥ 34 °C and ≥ 60% relative humidity versus < 34 °C and < 60% humidity. However, staphylococci bacteria were prolific in incubator cold spots where humidity was above 60%. Gram negative bacteria were also increased, but not at a statistically significant level. These studies suggest that humidity is still beneficial, but lower levels may decrease the risks involved in using humidity. If higher humidity is used, it is

The proper yet least invasive route to perform the measurement of a core temperature in children has been an ongoing debate. Common methods or routes include axillary or in the armpit area, oral, rectal, tympanic, and temporal. Proper temperature measurement with an accurate result is important for diagnosis and treatment, especially in febrile children. False positive measurements can lead to extensive and unnecessary diagnostic testing while false negatives can lead to under treatment in a fragile population, which is why the