RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of trunk-to-head bathing versus the traditional head-to-trunk bathing on newborns' body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. DESIGN: A prospective, two-group, quasi-experimental repeated measures design. SETTING: A newborn nursery in an urban university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two healthy full-term newborns. METHODS: Newborns were randomly assigned to two groups. The newborns in the experimental group were bathed from trunk to head; those in the control group were bathed from head to trunk. Measurements of body temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were obtained at four time points: before the bath, immediately after the bath, 30 minutes after the bath, and 60 minutes after the bath. RESULTS: No significant differences in body temperature, heart rate, or oxygen saturation were observed between groups. However, body temperature was significantly different across measurement times, and there was a significant interaction between group and measurement time. The mean body temperature dropped 0.2°C after bathing in both groups, but the experimental group returned to their initial body temperature more rapidly than the control group. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that newborns who were bathed from trunk to head and whose heads were wet for shorter periods of time benefited with a more rapid recovery of body temperature and decreased heat loss due to evaporation.
