Final answer:
An increase in body temperature following delivery can be due to a postpartum infection. When the body detects an infection, it increases temperature as a defense mechanism. The fever also drives up the basal metabolic rate, due to accelerated metabolic reactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Causes of Increased Body Temperature Post-Delivery
Following delivery, a patient's body temperature can increase due to a number of reasons. It could be a result of hormonal changes, reactions to pain medication, increased metabolic rate, or postpartum infection. A postpartum infection is one likely cause of fever following childbirth. When the body recognizes an infection, it releases chemicals called endogenous pyrogens into the blood, which circulate to the hypothalamus and reset the body's thermostat, resulting in an increased body temperature. This fever is a normal defense mechanism as it helps preserve iron, increase the activity of the body's enzymes and protective cells while inhibiting those of the pathogens, and, in some cases, the heat may kill the pathogens directly.
The body has several mechanisms to regulate body temperature, including sweating and vasodilation when too warm, and shivering and vasoconstriction when too cold. Fever can also drive up the basal metabolic rate (BMR); for instance, an increase of 4°C above the baseline body temperature could lead to a BMR increase of approximately 50 percent, due to the enhanced rate of metabolic reactions in the body.