It's because of today's extreme focus on SIDS/SUID.
They don't want the baby to smother on a hat (so "keep the room warm enough the baby doesn't need a hat") or bedclothes (so "no bedclothes" or the British "feet to foot of the crib, only a knit or crocheted blanket, no higher than shoulders, and tuck it in tight") or get overheated (which has been associated with SIDS / sudden infant deaths for centuries), whether from being overbundled in the cold (so "dress in this many tog of clothing for this temperature" guides) or just from summer heat (so "keep it at 78F or below").
(Of course SIDS rates dropped during lockdowns...possibly due to fewer/slower vaccinations...but you probably can't successfully argue that if someone reports you for not following SIDS guidelines.)
IMO the British guidelines are more practical than the American ones: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/ But they recommend cooler temps (61-68F as "ideal")...because they can, it's usually cool there. Not recently, I know!
The Australians are also more practical on SIDS IMO and here's what they say about temperature: https://rednose.org.au/article/room-temperature
They mention the fan thing.
>I swaddled mine in blankets to put to bed.
You've reminded me that at the very beginning we adjusted between 55 and 60 by adding or removing a swaddle blanket (an extra warm one my friend had crocheted from weight 3 yarn). But she managed to break out and roll over very early, and after that it's Officially Unsafe to continue swaddling (since if they break out the loose blanket could block their air, or if they roll they could get into a position that blocked their air and the restriction of the swaddle could prevent them from getting into a better position).
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timeasmymeasure
Re: temperature for babies.
Date: 2022-07-26 10:17 pm (UTC)They don't want the baby to smother on a hat (so "keep the room warm enough the baby doesn't need a hat") or bedclothes (so "no bedclothes" or the British "feet to foot of the crib, only a knit or crocheted blanket, no higher than shoulders, and tuck it in tight") or get overheated (which has been associated with SIDS / sudden infant deaths for centuries), whether from being overbundled in the cold (so "dress in this many tog of clothing for this temperature" guides) or just from summer heat (so "keep it at 78F or below").
(Of course SIDS rates dropped during lockdowns...possibly due to fewer/slower vaccinations...but you probably can't successfully argue that if someone reports you for not following SIDS guidelines.)
IMO the British guidelines are more practical than the American ones: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/ But they recommend cooler temps (61-68F as "ideal")...because they can, it's usually cool there. Not recently, I know!
The Australians are also more practical on SIDS IMO and here's what they say about temperature: https://rednose.org.au/article/room-temperature
They mention the fan thing.
>I swaddled mine in blankets to put to bed.
You've reminded me that at the very beginning we adjusted between 55 and 60 by adding or removing a swaddle blanket (an extra warm one my friend had crocheted from weight 3 yarn). But she managed to break out and roll over very early, and after that it's Officially Unsafe to continue swaddling (since if they break out the loose blanket could block their air, or if they roll they could get into a position that blocked their air and the restriction of the swaddle could prevent them from getting into a better position).
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