DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i02.037

Pages: 665-669

The primary objective was to study the effect of ambient temperature and season changes on neonatal body temperature in post natal wards and to compare thermal stress prevalence in post natal wards of two different health centers. It is a hospital based analytical study carried out in Post natal ward of Medical College Hospital (health centre 1) and post natal ward of Prasuti wing under department of health (health centre 2) in central part of India. A total of 960 neonates on mother side in postnatal wards (480 in each health center) upto first seven days of life (168 hours) were studied for a duration of one year. Ambient temperature of postnatal wards and body temperature of neonates were simultaneously recorded twice a day (morning and afternoon), every week, alternatively in each institution, throughout the year. Also weather parameters of the day at different times, for the city were also recorded. More than one third (37%) of the neonates were hypothermic, out of which incidence of moderate hypothermia ranges from 7.7 to 18.8 %. Hypothermia was more in the colder months of December – February (61.2%), but a striking second peak of hypothermia was seen in the months of July and August (43.1%). Incidence of hypothermia increases when temperature of city [P<0.001] and of the postnatal wards falls <250C [P = 0.001 to 0.004]. A significant correlation of hypothermia and high humidity of the city was seen with rise in number of cases whenever the humidity shoots above 60%.[P<0.001]. Incidence of hypothermia found in health center- 2 (44.4%) was significantly higher than in health center- 1 (30.8%) [P<0.001] whereas incidence of hyperthermia was nearly same in both the institutions (9.4 – 9.6%) and was found more in the months of April – June.