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So the consensus online is that babies should sleep in a room with a temperature between 16 to 21 degrees.

But there are millions of babies born in hot tropical climates to families with low income, where the temperature even at night time will be 28-32 degrees Celsius. So obviously they do not sleep at 16 to 21 degrees, but are fine. So what is the deal here? How can this contradict the common recommendation? What happens if a person from a cold climate has a baby with a person from a tropical climate, and the baby is born in the tropical climate. Is it then okay for the baby to sleep in a room at 28 degrees?

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    Common sense answers this question, but your question itself could use a source. I haven't done basic Pediatrics in years, and I never read that.
    – anongoodnurse ♦
    Dec 14, 2016 at 3:40
  • Plenty of babies are born and live to maturity in hot climates. Simply because you read it on the internet doesn't make it so. I agree with Anongoodnurse, a source reference is necessary.
    – WRX
    Dec 14, 2016 at 13:16
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    Just become a father myself and we were told the same thing. I'm in the UK and I think the basis is not to have the heating on full and have them wrapped up in countless blankets so they do overheat. From what I've been told, babies can't control their core temperature and so can't bring it down when it's too warm. The recommendation in a tropical climate may be slightly different. As said above, common sense is best.
    – Bugs
    Dec 14, 2016 at 15:59

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While I am not familiar with this specific claim, there is a difference between best practices and what works. In general, what works is enough to get by but there can be risks and difficulties that are all but guaranteed to come up. Most times there are ways to avoid these risks and difficulties by adhering to certain "above and beyond" guidelines.

The marginal benefit might not be that big, but they're worth following if possible. As you mentioned with low income children of tropical climates, sometimes it's not worth the effort to achieve or just not possible.

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