How Should I Dress My Baby?

The Pediatrician in Bagdat Street Policlinic of Yeditepe University answered the most frequently asked questions of parents after birth, such as "How Should I Dress My Baby?" "Is My Baby Cold?"

Parents are often undecided about how to dress their babies, and, on the contrary, they dress up their babies more than necessary because of the fear of “my baby gets cold.”.

Since the sweat glands of newborn babies have not developed yet, they cannot sweat as the ambient temperature increases and therefore the heat disturbs them, making them restless and crying more. It is recommended that the temperature of the environment is kept between 22-23 C degrees and the humidity rate is kept between 50-60%. The clothing of a newborn baby is dressed, should be adjustable according to the temperature of the environment. In other words, as the room temperature increases, the clothes should be reduced by one layer or increased by one layer if the temperature decreased. It is enough for a baby born with normal birth weight to wear one layer more than you/(his or her parents). In particular, it is better to wear more than one layer of thin clothing instead of a single layer of thick clothing.

It is important to protect the head in the neonatal period, as heat loss in infants often starts from the head. Hands and feet are often cold, and parents usually assume that the baby is cold. However, in order to accurately assess whether the baby is cold or not, it is sufficient to look at the neck of the baby. If the neck is not cold, the baby is not cold either.

Babies are more sensitive to cold during sleep. Therefore, they need to be checked during sleep. Frequent breathing or restlessness may indicate that the baby is cold. It is not appropriate to cover the baby with a blanket or any other cover, as it may cover the baby’s face while sleeping and prevent the baby’s breathing. In this respect, the best way is to use sleeping bags with thickness degrees suitable for the ambient temperature.