- acrocyanosis
- cyanosis occurring only on the hands and feet, an expected finding in a newborn, that lasts up to a week
- Apgar assessment
- standardized assessment to evaluate the response of the newborn’s transition to extrauterine life based on heart rate, respiration, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and color at 1 minute and 5 minutes post birth
- cold stress
- occurs when excessive heat loss requires the infant to use compensatory mechanisms (increased respirations and nonshivering thermogenesis) to maintain core body temperature
- conduction
- heat loss occurring from direct contact with a cooler surface
- convection
- heat loss occurring when heat is transferred from the body surface to the surrounding air by a current
- encephalopathy with hyperammonemia
- high levels of ammonia in the blood that cause brain damage
- evaporation
- heat loss that occurs when liquid is converted to vapor
- extrauterine life
- life outside the uterus
- first period of reactivity
- initial episode of neonatal behavior beginning at birth, lasting about 30 minutes, and characterized by activity, alertness, responsiveness, and interaction with anyone nearby
- galactosemia
- buildup of galactose in the blood
- homeothermic
- attempting stabilization internally despite significant temperature variations in the environment the neonate is presently in
- intrauterine life
- life inside the uterus
- meconium
- first stool the newborn passes, consisting of amniotic fluid, mucus, lanugo, and bile
- muscle tone
- tension of healthy muscles that contributes a slight resistance to passive displacement of a limb
- neutral thermal environment
- the temperature range necessary for heat production to be at a minimum to maintain normal body temperature
- nonshivering thermogenesis
- increase in metabolic heat production above the basal metabolism that is not associated with muscle activity
- patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- cardiac defect that occurs when a fetal anatomic shunt, the ductus arteriosus, fails to close after birth
- patent foramen ovale (PFO)
- cardiac defect that occurs when a fetal anatomic shunt, the foramen ovale, fails to close after birth
- period of decreased responsiveness
- secondary episode of neonatal behavior, lasting about 30 minutes to 2 hours, characterized by a marked decrease in motor activity, decreased vital signs, and deep sleep
- radiation
- heat loss occurring from transfer of heat to cool solid objects not in direct contact with the newborn
- reflex irritability
- newborn’s response to stimulation from the nurse
- second period of reactivity
- third and final episode of neonatal behavior lasting about 2 to 8 hours, characterized by increased activity, alertness, oral secretions, and an interest in feeding and parental-neonatal bonding; this is the final stage in neonatal transition
- ten-step warm chain
- standardized program developed in 1997 by the World Health Organization to support thermal stability in the newborn
- thermoregulation
- maintenance of thermal balance by the loss of heat to the environment at a rate equal to the heat being produced
- transient neonatal thrombocytopenia
- condition of decreased platelets that develops in neonates