NURSERY ILLUMINATION AS A FACTOR IN NEONATAL HYPERBILIRUBINEMIA

[摘要] The present recommended lighting conditions for newborn nurseries were selected on the basis of what was the best combination of lights to enable nurses and physicians visually to judge cyanosis and jaundice. The possibility that environmental lighting conditions could have any effect on newborn infants has not previously received serious consideration. The article by Giunta and Rath in this issue clearly demonstrates that a very moderate increase in environmental lighting intensity does have an effect on the degree of hyperbilirubinemia of prematurity. The practical application of this observation seems simple and obvious. We should reexamine our attitude towards light, not from our own adultocentric viewpoint, but from the standpoint of what might be best for the newborn infant.

[学科分类] 儿科学