Nearly one in 10 premature babies did not have a temperature check in first hour after birth, UK audit finds

More than one in four babies born earlier than 32 weeks gestation and whose temperature was recorded within an hour of birth were below the recommended range of 36.5°C to 37.5°C, results from the latest national neonatal audit programme report have shown.1

Nearly one in eight of the 750 000 babies born each year in England, Wales, and Scotland were admitted to a neonatal unit because they were born prematurely, had a low birth weight, or had a medical condition that needed specialist treatment.

The national neonatal audit compared results from neonatal units against professionally agreed standards, with the …