Becoming a parent

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BABY AFTER DELIVERY?

Immediately after the delivery, your baby will be checked by the doctor or midwife and will be given an Apgar score. She will also be weighed and measured. If all is well, she will be handed to you to hold and put to the breast if you want to. Your baby will also be given a dose of vitamin K.

WHY IS MY BABY GIVEN VITAMIN K AT BIRTH?

Vitamin K is made in our bodies and is needed for blood clotting. Newborn babies lack vitamin K since they don’t have the right bacteria in their gut to make it. So they can sometimes bleed, with serious results if this bleeding is into the brain. However, this so-called hemorrhagic disease of the newborn can be prevented by giving vitamin K. This is sometimes done at birth—one dose by injection. There’s been some concern that vitamin K injections might be harmful to babies, but there seems to be no good medical evidence for this.

HOW SOON CAN MY BABY RECOGNIZE ME?

There’s evidence that babies begin to recognize their parents by sight within a few days of birth. Your baby uses all her senses from early on. She already knows your voice—she heard it long before birth. Studies also suggest that babies learn distinct smells by the time they are three days old; even at this stage they prefer a pad soaked with a few drops of their own mother’s milk to pads with someone else’s milk. In general, new babies seem to like anything that vaguely resembles a human face.

I THINK MY NEWBORN BABY IS SMILING AT ME ALREADY. IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Real smiling is said to start at around six weeks. Those fleeting smiles that parents notice in the first few days were once thought to be due to gas or a random facial experiment by the baby. But now many doctors agree that very young babies can and do smile. This may be in response to your smiles. They can also imitate facial movements, such as sticking the tongue out, from an early age.

WHAT IS THE APGAR SCORE?

Named after Dr. Virginia Apgar, this is a clinical assessment of your baby’s shortterm well-being at and soon after birth. The check is carried out by your doctor or midwife one minute after the birth and then usually again five minutes after birth (and more often if it’s necessary). A total score of 7 or over is normal; 10 is perfect, while 5 to 7 indicates that the baby may need observation or to have her airways cleared. A score of less than 5 usually suggests that the baby needs oxygen or other urgent treatment. The score should then rise.

WHAT WILL MY NEWBORN BABY LOOK LIKE?

Some babies are small while others are chubby. Many have very little hair, but a few have lots. The shape of their heads can vary, too, depending on the  length of the mother’s labor and the method of delivery. In the first few days, a baby has some distinct physical features that can look alarming to a new  parent. Don’t panic. Some of what may seem to you to be peculiarities or even defects are really normal features that will change as your baby matures.

- Eyes may be blue for the first five to six months; eyelids are often puffy

- Head may not be symmetrical but will usually even out soon

- Skin may have a vernix covering; face is wrinkled and red

- Enlarged breasts are normal in boy and girl babies for a few days after birth

- Skin may have grayish-blue patches (so-called Mongolian blue spots). These are common on the buttocks and limbs

- A girl’s vulva may appear red and inflamed and there may be a clear discharge and a little blood around the seventh day. (In boy babies, the scrotum may be red and swollen.)

- Hands and feet are often bluish or mottled at first, or after sleeping. Peeling skin can occur later

WHAT CAN MY NEWBORN BABY DO?

She may be helpless without food and warmth from you, but she is equipped with some skills and reflexes.

- She can see, especially in the range 8–10 in (20–25 cm). Her eye muscles lack coordination so she may be cross-eyed, but this does not mean she  has a long-term problem. Her eyes don’t adapt to distance vision as well as those of an older baby.

- She can also hear well and has a sense of smell.

- She has a sucking reflex: when your finger touches the roof of her mouth, she will respond with a strong sucking action.

ROOTING REFLEX – If you stroke her cheek, she will turn toward your finger and open her mouth. This reflex helps her feed.

STARTLE (MORO) REFLEX – If you pull her arms to their extent and let go quickly, she will throw out her arms and legs.

STEPPING REFLEX – If you hold her upright, with her feet touching a firm surface, she will mimic a stepping action, even though she can’t walk yet.

GRASP REFLEX – Stroking her palm with one of your fingers will cause her to grip your finger tightly.

 

 

baby faq, parenting tips