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How do you think these factors affect the ability of an infant to regulate its body temperature?

A premature infant typically lacks subcutaneous adipose tissue. Also, the surface area of an infant’s small body is relatively large compared to its volume.

Public Comments

1. 1. Lack of subcutaneous adipose tissue - simply put means the infant doesn't have the layer of fat under its skin that an adult does. The fat acts as a type of "blanket" to keep heat in the body. Animals living in cold water or climates have a large layer of fat that helps them survive. Lack of this layer of fat means you lose body heat faster and have to use up more energy keeping your body warm enough to keep functioning.

2. Small body with large surface to volume ratio. This means that there is more surface to lose heat from. Think of a large ice cube in a glass of cola and the same amount of ice that is shaved or crushed ice in a cola. The shaved ice melts quickly while it takes awhile for the large cube. This is because the shaved ice has a lot of surface for each piece, therefore, it balances out the temp faster and melts quicker in the cola.

Bottom line - babies' bodies have to work harder to keep warm.