How long can the baby be kept inside the food-grade polyethylene bag?
There is no hard and fast rule for this, but a number of factors need to be taken into account. Firstly, one needs to apply a servo controlled temperature probe within 10 minutes to ensure normothermia and avoid hyperthermia. Secondly, distance to the neonatal intensive care unit may vary from institution to institution. Thirdly, it would be preferable to keep the baby in a bag and under a radiant warmer until he or she can be placed in a stable, presumably humidified, thermal environment. Once in a warm, humidified environment, the baby can be removed from the bag and dried with a warm towel. One should be able to monitor saturation, heart rate and (servo) temperature while the baby is in a bag. Holes may be conveniently made in the bag to place surface probes and insert lines.
