Causes of fever in newborns

Newborns are not fully developed and their body functions do not reach normal indicators, so they may have a fever, which is also a normal phenomenon. Newborns cannot express their thoughts, and even if they feel hot, they can only convey it through crying. Therefore, try to keep the newborn at a suitable temperature. Do not wrap the baby up to keep warm or put him in an airtight room, as this will make it difficult for the baby to dissipate heat, and the newborn will have a fever over time.

The mechanisms of fever in neonates are not fully understood; they result from disturbances in the complex relationship between heat production and heat dissipation. The body temperature center of the neonatal period is immature, and the sweat gland tissue is also incompletely developed. Both the heat production and heat dissipation functions are imperfect, and the regulation ability is poor. In addition, the subcutaneous fat of the newborn is thin and the body surface area is relatively large, so the body temperature is easily affected by the surrounding environment temperature. Therefore, many factors can cause fever in newborns.

1. Caused by environmental factors

If the room temperature is too high or the newborn is wrapped too tightly or too much, the newborn's temperature can rise rapidly.

2. Neonatal dehydration fever

It often occurs in newborns who are normally breastfed 3 to 4 days after birth, and the cause of the disease is insufficient water intake. After birth, newborns lose a considerable amount of water through breathing, skin evaporation, and urination and defecation. The amount of breast milk in the first 3 to 4 days after birth is relatively small. If it is not replenished in time, it can cause excessive loss of water in the body, leading to blood concentration and fever in the newborn. The symptoms will be relieved after replenishing water and lowering the ambient temperature.

3. Neonatal infection

Infectious diseases caused by various pathogens, including pneumonia, omphalitis, sepsis, purulent meningitis and various viral infectious diseases. However, it should be noted that not all newborns with infections will have fever. Some newborns with severe infections do not show fever but hypothermia.

4. Others

Neonatal hyperthermia can also be caused by increased metabolic rate in the newborn, such as skeletal muscle rigidity and status epilepticus. Children with congenital ectodermal dysplasia may develop fever due to lack of sweat glands and heat dissipation disorders. Intracranial hemorrhage in newborns can cause central fever. Epidural anesthesia during labor can also cause fever in the mother and newborn.