How Long Should an Infant Remain in the Incubator?
An answer to this question can not be given, since it must vary with the condition of the infant. In institutions conducted for show purposes there is a great liability to permit the infants to remain in the incubator too long. If the circulation of the air is perfect and the incubator temperature very low (75 to 80°) there is really no harm in keeping infants weighing less than 2500 grams in the incubator longer than immediate needs require. Yet, it is a good rule to keep the infants in the incubator only so long as is absolutely necessary. A premature infant who has been kept in an incubator relatively warm, can not be brought out so soon as when the baby is at once accustomed to a lower temperature. When the digestion is good and an increase of weight progressive, the temperature of the incubator may be lowered rapidly, and the infant removed in one or two weeks. On the other hand, very small infants with feeble digestive power and gain in weight may be kept in the incubator for one
