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| CARE OF YOUR NEWBORN CONGRATULATIONS ! You have just experienced a momentous event.But your pleasent emotions are mixed with sense of anxiety about how to look after your baby. This write up is aimed at helping you in providing scientifically appropriate care to your newborn baby.Your new born needs special care & attention. Your ignorance, false beliefs & harmful social rituals can harm your baby.Learn more about feeding, clothes, bathing, vaccination, usual complaints like vomitting, colic, jaundice, loose motions, early signs of serious diseases and more.................... Your new born needs special care & attention. Your ignorance, false beliefs & harmful social rituals can harm your baby. Care of Cord Cord usually falls anytime between 5-10 days. It should be cleaned with spirit or betadine after thoroughly washing your hands. Don't apply anything else on it. Clothes Baby should be carefully covered. A vest, a full sleeve frock, a napkin and a cap is required even in summers. In winters, 2 or 3 additional layers of woolens clothes are necessary & should be wrapped in woolen blankets. The baby clothes should be of cotton or wool & avoid synthetic stuff. Small babies (weight less than 2.5 kg.) need special care as they are prone to become sick in cold environment. Room for them must be kept warm with room heaters. Use of fan should be avoided even in summers. The temparature of room is rather warm which is a bit uncomfortable to the adults. Baby should wear extra wollens Special attention should be paid to cover head, feet & hands. Keep the baby next to mother. If soles & palms are cold to touch or are blue, the baby is either cold or sick. Bathing the Baby There is no need to bath the baby on first day. Both is given ob 2nd or 3rd day. Bathing the baby on first day may suddenly decrease the temparature of baby. Bathing should be done with warm water, in a warm room & during afternoon. Any simple non-medicated glycerine soap can be used. Don't use any costly soap. Eyes should be cleaned with wet cotton. Dry the cord & apply spirit or betadine. It can be done with ghee or coconut oil. Don't use perfumed oil. Massaging is usually not necessary. USUAL COMPLAINTS IN NEWBORN BABY 1.HICCUPS H AND SNEEZING These are common and normal. 2.JAUNDICE (Yellowness of Body & Eyes) : This commonly occurs in most of babies on 2nd or 3rd day & remains for10-14 days. It goes off its own & nothing needs to be done. SERIOUS JAUNDICE : When jaundice appears an 1st day or doesn't go off by 2nd week or deep jaundice is present. 3.STOOL AND URINE NOT PASSED ON DAY 1 Don't panic, it is normal for first urine to take 48 hours & first stool to take 24 hours to be passed. 4 BREAST ENGORGEMENT It happens in Ist week & it spontaneously disappears in a few days. Avoid local message and fomentation. Never try to express milk. 5 VAGINAL BLEEDING. It may occur in some females in 1st week. It goes off its own in few weeks without any treatment. 6BABY'S STOOLS. Newborn baby passes greyish white or yellow stool. In next 2-3 days it becomes dark black, tenacious, stickly & odourtess stool. The gradual transition to normal yellow stool may take 15-20 days. And in this period stool may contain mucus, is explosive & may be 15-20 per day and color may be green. If baby is having fever stool are watery with blood or mucus then consult your doctor. 7.CONSTIPATION Infrequently, normal motions can occur every 5th day. Baby is otherwise perfectly well, no abdomen distension, flatus is passed as usual & little restlessness a day before stool is pased. This phase remain only for few week & then it revert backs to normal. If it is associated with abdominal distension, vomitting then consult your doctor. 8.EXCESSIVE CRYING Cry due to hunger is understood by most parents. If baby who is not consolable despite putting on breast is having other problems like, colic, wet napkins, mosquitobites, allergic rash, nose block, hard stools, napkin rash or it is cry for attention & cuddling at night. Put the baby on tummy for colic & put saline nasal drops for blocked nose. If baby continues to cry inconsolably consult your doctor immediately. BREAST FEEDING It is highly nutritious, easily digestible & protect against many diseases. Newborn for first few days doesn't seem to be very hungry, they may want to feed only 3-4 times a day. By third day onwards they demands milk 10-20 times. From 2nd week most babies demand less. Rapid growth occurs at 3 weeks, 6 weeks of life & they need more feed. WHEN TO START ? : First feed should be given within half to 1 hour of delivery. COLOSTRUM : This yellow milk is highly nutritious & should always be given to the baby & should never be thrown. DURATION OF FEED : No fixed duration should be set. All babies are different in speed of sucking. Most babies suck 90% of feed in first 5 minutes & they rarely need more than 15 minutes. Baby should be fed on first breast until he suddenly slows down & then fed on second breast until he goes to sleep. FEEDING INTERVAL ? : For first 2 month the schedule should be semi demand(give feed whenever baby cries for it & in addition,put the baby on breast if more than 4 hours have elapsed). RIGHT WAY TO FEED : Hold the baby in your lap & support the head on your elbow & while in sitting position bend forward to offer whole breast to the baby. The baby should take whole of nipple and much of aerola into the mouth. AFTER THE FEED (BURPING) : Burp the baby by putting him on shoulder. After burping make the child lie down on right side with head slightly elevated. Never put the baby on left. GAS FORMATION , VOMMITING & REGURGITATION These problems happens more ofter in first few weeks. These are more ofter associated with improper feeding methods, i.e. feeding in lying down position or improper burping & by putting baby on left side position after the feed. Observe the proper technique to avoid these problems. EVENING COLIC Some babies at 2-8 weeks develope episodes of inconsolable crying during evening. It occurs everyday at same time. Temporary relief is obtained by rhythmic rocking. This condition spontaneously disappear by 3 months. KEEP A SERIAL WEIGHT RECORD DAILY WEIGHT GAIN is the only indication of health of baby. Baby gain 30-40 gm. per day during first 3 months then 10-20 gm. per day (during 3mo. to 1yr.). During first 3 day, approximately 200-300 gm weight is lost by most babies This loss is gained back by 10th day. VACCINATION RECORD BCG, Hepatitis and oral polio (OPV) is given at birth or within 1 month of age. First Triple & polio is given at 1 1/2 - 2 months & then every monthly for 3 doses. Measles is given at 9 months, MMR at 15-18 months & Triple polio booster at 16-24 months. Hepatitis (Jaundice) second dose is given after 1 month of first dose & Third dose after 6 months. DANGER SIGNALS IN NEWBORN Recognise the following early signs of serious disease & Consult your Doctor immediately:- * Weight less than 2kg or more than 4kg. * Not gaining weight * Born before 8 months * Cried late after birth * Excessive cry or not crying * Convulsions, Twitching, Eye Blinking * Stiff neck, body & limbs * Pus discharge/swelling of cord * Eye discharge/boils on body * Feverish or cold baby * Fast Respiration, groaning & Chest retraction * Not accepting feed * Irritable or lethargic * Pale or Jaundiced * Blue nails, lips or body * Vomitting & abdomen distension * Not passed urine within 2 days * Not passed stool within 1 day |
| Site Updated on : Nov 10 , 2001 |
| References : Nelson textbook of Pediatrics and Manual of Newborn Care. |