Hello!

My 6 month old baby’s head is always hot and every time I hold her or feed her it becomes saturated in sweat. Why does this happen? She never has a temperature and this also occurs in the colder months of the year as well. Is this normal or common in babies?


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  • It sound normal to me,babies find it hard to regulate their body temperatures. If you are concerned visit you child health nurse or your GP.


  • as an innocent 21 year old mum I asked this same question to my GP, apparently it is normal, a baby has a small body in comparison to the head and their head is the largest part of their body that they can use to regulate temperature which is why it gets hot, it is also why it is important when it is cold to make sure that their head is covered up. When I thought about it probably the amount of skin on a babies head, face and neck is probably almost as much as the rest of their body, so it did make sense when she explained it to me. so I just used to check their heads to see if they were hot or cold, LOL


  • My son was the same as a baby and even now at 3.5 gets very hot and red in the face with little exertion. If you are concerned check with your doctor.


  • Also; community nurses are a great wealth of knowledge; if still concerned discuss with them too.


  • This is completely normal. If you are snuggled up to someone you tend to heat up. Babies do not regulate their body temperature well. They lose heat though their head, hands, and feet so those areas shouldn’t be covered when they are asleep except if you live somewhere particularly cold as you risk them overheating.


  • Yeah babies lose a lot of heat through their head when they are small. Some people have said that it could be due to teething. As long as they seem healthy and happy they should be fine, head to the doc for a quick checkup if you’re concerned.


  • I would discuss it with your GP if your are concerned. Babies do have a hard time regulating their temperature. Body contact also causes heat and feeding does too.


  • Speak to your health nurse at the next health check. But know that this does happen with babies. They don’t regulate their temps as we as we do. And remember, when you are holding or feeding bub (esp if breast feeding), there is lots of skin to skin contact. You’re body warmth is going to warm up bub moreso. My daughter gets all sweaty when she falls asleep in my arms… And I get all heated too!


  • My understanding is a baby loses a lot of heat though his/her head. It could be that your baby is overheating while asleep. Unless you are in a cold area try reducing the amount you wrap him up or wrap him looser. Maybe loosen it more when he is sound asleep. Maybe try just covering him up. If all those ideas fail and nobody makes suggestions for you to try if you go to CAFS at all, ask them for suggestions. If they don’t have any, tell them what you have tried. Unfortunately some of the staff don’t have any practical experience either. Neither do I, except baby/child minding for extended times, sometimes a few days non-stop with the same children. Things that worked with one child didn’t work for the other one.


  • Having a friendly chat with your early childhood nurse or paediatrician or family doctor is the best idea. Babies do tend to find it harder to regulate their body temperature as easily as adults do.


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