Do babies shiver to produce heat?

• A. Not sure
• B. Sometimes
• C. No
• D. Yes

Answer: (C)

Newborns primarily generate heat through nonshivering thermogenesis using brown adipose tissue. This specialized fat tissue, activated by cold exposure and sympathetic signals, burns calories to produce heat without needing muscle contractions. Shivering relies on mature skeletal muscles and nervous system, which neonates have only to a limited extent, so they don’t rely on shivering as a heat-producing mechanism early on. As infants grow and their muscles and nervous system mature, their ability to shiver develops, but in the newborn period the main method of keeping warm is brown fat metabolism plus conserving heat through vasoconstriction. So saying babies shiver to produce heat isn’t correct; they heat themselves primarily through nonshivering thermogenesis.