The temperature of the room we are in is important for our well-being and health. The newborn is no exception—on the contrary, studies show that the temperature of the room where the baby is born directly affects their health.
During pregnancy, the fetus develops in a relatively stable thermoneutral uterus. In the first minutes after birth, the newborn enters a cooler environment, and low temperatures can cause loss of body temperature in the newborn and even hypothermia. On the other hand, during labor and immediately after birth, the baby may face pyrexia (hyperthermia) if the mother has a significantly elevated body temperature. This may also be reflected in a tachycardic CTG recording.

Hypothermia, especially in preterm infants, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Hyperthermic infants have poorer short-term outcomes, and hyperthermia can be particularly harmful in combination with metabolic acidosis, when the pH at birth is less than 7 and the base deficit is greater than or equal to 12 mmol/L, and infections (Laptook, Watkinson, 2008).

Hypothermia in infants shortly after birth has been independently associated with increased mortality and other adverse clinical outcomes in newborns (Lapcharoensap, C. Lee, 2016).
The same applies to preterm infants. Raising the temperature in the birth room to the temperature recommended by the World Health Organization reduces cold stress in preterm infants (Y-S Jia, et al., 2013).

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its pocket guide to early and essential newborn care clinical practice (WHO, 2014), recommends a birth room temperature in the range of 25–28°C.

Source1, Source2, Source3, Source4

Photo: Canva