Transepidermal water loss in newborn infants. V. Evaporation from the skin and heat exchange during the first hours of life.

The amount of water evaporated from the skin was studied in 10 healthy newborn infants from their first minute of life, while being taken care of in the delivery room, and in 11 infants treated in incubators from their 30th min of life. The heat lost by evaporation, radiation and convection was calculated. Evaporation from the skin was very high during the first minutes after birth and was the main cause of heat loss during the first 15-30 min of life. Thereafter the amount of heat lost depended on the conditions under which the infant was nursed. Higher convective and radiative heat losses were found in delivery rooms than in incubators.