Overview
Temperature Is a Vital Sign
At birth, temperature is both a vital sign and a modifiable source of physiologic stress.
At birth, temperature is both a vital sign and a modifiable source of physiologic stress. Wet skin, cool surfaces, moving air, and nearby cold objects can lower a newborn's temperature quickly. A term, low-risk newborn's normal axillary temperature is 36.3°C to 37.2°C. An axillary temperature below 36.3°C is hypothermia; a temperature above 37.5°C is hyperthermia. The number is never interpreted in isolation. First determine whether the newborn is cardiorespiratorily stable, correct the thermal environment, and look for illness when the abnormal reading persists or the newborn appears unwell.