Abstract

Oxygen consumption was studied in 40 newborn babies undergoing phototherapy for hyperbilirubinaemia, both when enclosed within an incubator or nursed in an open cot. Exposure to phototherapy caused a rise in temperature at the mattress surface. This could result in overheating a baby nursed in an incubator, but by contrast is likely only partially to compensate for the loss of insulation of an unclothed baby in an open cot.