Temperature monitoring is essential for assessing neonates and providing appropriate neonatal thermal care. Thermoneutrality is defined as the environmental temperature range within which the oxygen and metabolic consumptions are minimum to maintain normal body temperature. When neonates are in an environment below thermoneutral temperature, they respond by vasoconstriction to minimise heat losses, followed by a rise in metabolic rate to increase heat production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothermia occurs frequently among clinically unstable neonates who are not suitable to place in skin-to-skin care. This study aims to explore the existing evidence on the effectiveness, usability, and affordability of neonatal warming devices when skin-to-skin care is not feasible in low-resource settings. To explore existing data, we searched for (1) systematic reviews as well as randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing the effectiveness of radiant warmers, conductive warmers, or incubators among neonates, (2) neonatal thermal care guidelines for the use of warming devices in low-resource settings and (3) technical specification and resource requirement of warming devices which are available in the market and certified medical device by the US Food and Drug Administration or with a CE marking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neonatal hypothermia has been widely regarded as a major contributory factor to neonatal mortality and morbidity in low-resource settings. The high prevalence of potentially preventable hypothermia today urges an investigation into why neonates still become hypothermic despite awareness of the problem and established thermal care guidelines. This study aimed to explore the gaps in knowledge and practices of neonatal thermal care among healthcare workers in low-resource settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Every year, 2.5 million neonates die, mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), in total disregard of their fundamental human rights. Many of these deaths are preventable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeonatal death represents a major burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the main conditions triggering mortality, such as prematurity, labor complications, infections, and respiratory distress syndrome, are frequently worsened by hypothermia, which dramatically scales up the risk of death. In SSA, the lack of awareness on the procedures to prevent hypothermia and the shortage of essential infant devices to treat it are hampering the reduction of neonatal deaths associated to hypothermia. Here, we offer a snapshot on the current available medical solutions to prevent and treat hypothermia in SSA, with a focus on Kenya.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: to explore the factors influencing women's use of birth waiting homes in the Northern Bombali district, Sierra Leone.
Design: this was a descriptive exploratory study using qualitative research methodology, which included in depth interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, document review and observations.
Setting: two chiefdoms in the Northern Bombali district, Sierra Leone.