Over heating in infancy.

Over heating in infancy 'The first great Mistake is that they think a new-born Infant cannot be kept too warm: from this Prejudice they load it and bind it with Flannels, Wrappers, Swathes, Stays, etc.' So wrote Dr William Cadogan in 1748 and the prejudice he noted has changed little over the years. It is folklore, especially among the less educated, that babies should always be wrapped up well so that they do not 'catch cold', and that they should be kept warm particularly when they are ill. But in temperate climates exposure to cold, although a hazard in the first few weeks of life, is today an uncommon cause of death or serious illness in older babies, for whom over zealous attempts to prevent it may well do more harm than cold itself.