BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Maintenance of temperature at normal range by supplying heat and reducing its loss is an important part of neonatal care. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of in-service training for nurses on maintaining normal body temperature and eliminating heat stress and to compare the care practices to the current standards in term new-borns, before and after training on neonatal hypothermia care in hospitals affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences, in 2014.

METHODS: This descriptive-intervention study was performed on 98 newborns to evaluate the nursing care provided for prevention of neonatal hypothermia in the operating rooms, maternity and neonatal wards, and NICUs before and one month after training on neonatal hypothermia care. The data were obtained using a self-regulated checklist, which was designed according to the relevant standards of care for prevention of hypothermia. The checklists were scored based on the number of provided nursing care practices. The intervention included speech, educational posters, leaflets, and slides.

FINDINGS: The mean scores of nursing care before and after the intervention were 4.6±1.1 and 7.0±1.4 (out of 10), respectively, in the delivery rooms the respective mean sores were 8.4±1.4, and 11.1±0.7 (out of 13), for the operating rooms they were respectively 5.9±1.8, and 7.3±0.8 (out of 11), and in the NICUs they were 8.0±1.5, and 9.8±2.0, respectively (out of 14 p=0.0001). The prevalence of mild hypothermia at birth in the operating and delivery rooms was 38.1% and 21.5% before and after training, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The highest level of care for the preservation of warm chain was provided in operating rooms and the lowest level of care was observed in delivery rooms. To prevent hyperthermia, health policy-makers are recommended to focus more attention on maintaining temperature in and providing facilities for this purpose