When you have a baby, your main task is to preserve his health. One of the main indicators of the body is the body temperature. Therefore, newborn babies, from the first days of their life, measure the temperature several times a day. But how correctly to measure temperature to the newborn?
At the moment, there are several ways to measure the temperature of the body of a newborn and several types of thermometers.
Methods for measuring temperature
- in the armpit, in the folds of the neck or groin;
- in the anus (on average, 1 ° C will be lower than the armpit);
- in the mouth (0.5 ° C lower than the armpit).
It depends on you, where you will measure the temperature of your newborn baby, but the most common method of measurement is the armpit.
Types of thermometers
- Mercury thermometer - the most accurate, measurement time: in the armpit and folds - up to 10 minutes, in the rectum - 3 minutes, in the oral cavity - 5 minutes). It must be ensured that the measurement site is dry.
- The digital electronic thermometer is the safest, the measurement time is up to 1 minute, but gives an error in measurements.
- A dummy thermometer - can be used if the child sucks a pacifier, the principle of working as a digital electronic, the tip should be placed under the tongue, the measurement time is 3-5 minutes.
- Infrared non-contact ear thermometer - the measurement time is 1-4 seconds, and the result will be slightly higher than under the mouse. But such a thermometer is not desirable for babies.
Before determining the temperature of a newborn baby, it must necessarily be brought to rest. The kid should be calm (do not cry and do not play), lie still, do not eat, better 10 minutes after eating.
What temperature is normal for newborns?
There are certain standards for temperature readings for each measurement method:
- axillary (under the armpit or in the folds of the skin) - 36.3 - 37.3 ° C;
- rectal (in the rectum) - 37,6 - 38 ° C;
- oral (in the mouth) - 37,1 ° C.
You can talk about increasing the body temperature of the newborn, if all the conditions for a correct measurement have been met, and the thermometer shows 0.5 ° C more than normal.
To determine the normal temperature of your newborn baby, you should measure it several times a day for several days at the same time. The average value of the results will be the norm of your child .