RN Nursing · Newborn Assessment · Practice question
A newborn was born in a cool delivery room and has amniotic fluid remaining on the skin. The nurse notices the newborn's temperature is 36.2°C (97.2°F) and the newborn appears pale and lethargic. Which intervention should the nurse implement immediately to prevent further heat loss due to evaporation?
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Administer a warm glucose solution orally to increase metabolism and heat production.
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Wrap the newborn in a dry blanket without removing the wet towels to maintain moisture and warmth.
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Delay skin-to-skin contact with the mother until the temperature normalizes.
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✓
Place the newborn under a radiant warmer after thoroughly drying the skin with warm towels.
Answer & explanation
Correct: Place the newborn under a radiant warmer after thoroughly drying the skin with warm towels.
Evaporative heat loss occurs when moisture on the newborn's skin evaporates into the surrounding air, rapidly lowering the body temperature. The newborn in this scenario has amniotic fluid on the skin, a temperature of 36.2°C (below the normal newborn range of 36.5–37.5°C), and appears pale and lethargic — all signs of cold stress. The correct immediate intervention is to place the newborn under a radiant warmer after thoroughly drying the skin with warm towels. Drying removes the source of evaporative heat loss, and the radiant warmer provides an external heat source to rewarm the infant while allowing close observation. Administering a warm glucose solution orally is not an immediate intervention for evaporative heat loss and could be harmful if the infant is not ready to feed. Wrapping the newborn without removing wet towels is counterproductive because the wet material continues to cause evaporative cooling and will not effectively warm the infant. Delaying skin-to-skin contact is also incorrect; once the infant is dry, skin-to-skin contact with the mother is a highly effective and evidence-based method for maintaining newborn temperature, not something to delay. The priority, however, remains drying and placing under a radiant warmer as the most controlled and immediately effective intervention.
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