Noise and vibration during newborn transport have uncertain health effects
A review documented environmental exposures during newborn ambulance transport. Few studies linked those exposures to physiological effects, leaving uncertainty about how noise, vibration, and temperature changes affect transported newborns.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review documented noise, vibration, and temperature conditions during newborn transport, alongside measurements of newborn physiology and behavior. However, only a small subset of articles reported the effects of environmental factors on physiology. The evidence raises questions about transport conditions but does not establish how much these exposures affect newborn health or which changes would improve outcomes.
The authors identify small samples and differing measurement methods as barriers to firm conclusions. Most included articles did not report the effect of environmental exposures on newborn physiology, limiting connections between recorded conditions and health responses.
Exposure and response are different
Recording noise or vibration shows what newborns experienced during transport. To assess an effect, researchers also need to connect those recordings with the newborns' responses; the review found limited reporting of that relationship.
Several stress-related measurements
Studies recorded heart rate, variation between heartbeats, behavior scores, and saliva cortisol, a measured hormone. These describe different aspects of the newborn's condition, and varied methods make it difficult to draw a consistent conclusion across studies.
The original publication
Environmental factors and clinical markers of stress during neonatal transport: a systematic literature review .
Solvik-Olsen T, Bekkevold M, Heyerdahl F et al.
BMJ Paediatr Open · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40506087
- Record checked
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