Just wondered what people's practice was regarding temperature taking. We are told to promote minimal handling and therefore some people are taking it for gospel that they can't touch baby to record temperature- at the minute we record axilla temp usually with cares for a baby who has been with us a few days. Initially it is important particularly when a new preemie comes in or on humidity etc etc to check temp much more often than just with cares. However I understand that babies need to be left to get some settled sleep however knowing the complications of hypothermia and hyperthermia I am reluctant to leave temp recording for as long as some of the older nurses in our unit do, sometimes going as long as 12 hours without a temp!! I was thinking if suggesting to my manager about the potential for using the skin temp ( we have a transport incubator that does this and as far as I'm aware our other incubators allow this) or a nasal temperature probe attached to a monitor to allow us to get a real time temp reading making titration (particularly on humidity or phototherapy) much easier.
