Generally, air-conditioning is safe for a baby. Even with newborns, air-conditioning is preferable to a hot, airless, and humid environment. In fact, overheating should be avoided, and bedroom temperature should be as comfortable as possible. A properly-cooled, ventilated room with a comfortable temperature helps reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The infant should be lightly clothed for sleep, and the bedroom temperature should be comfortable for a lightly clothed adult. A/Prof Dr Erwin J Khoo , Consultant Paediatrician, IMU, advises a new set of parents who just had a baby, and are worried that the air-conditioned bedroom may be too cold for their baby to sleep in. He advises that the infant should be lightly clothed for sleep, and the bedroom temperature should be comfortable for a lightlyclothed adult. If the infant is dressed in a sleeper, a blanket is often not necessary.
Learn more about this at Baby, It’s Cold Inside (Health Today, March 2021).
