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Newborn

Tests and checks

When your baby is born, the midwife will check her Apgar scores, at one minute and five minutes after birth. All this means is that she will check the baby’s breathing, colour, behaviour, activity and posture to check that everything is normal. Although most babies don’t have problems, occasionally the midwife may have to give oxygen to the baby or clear out her airways.

Shortly after birth, the midwife will weigh the baby and measure her head circumference. She will enter the measurements into the Personal Child Health Record, which your health visitor will give you when the baby is about 10 days old. Measurements will be entered regularly after this to make sure your baby is developing healthily.

At some point in the two days following birth, a doctor will carry out a full check for any problems or abnormalities. This will include:

Examining the shape of the baby’s head to see if there are any problems. (Most problems, such as the baby’s head being squashed as it comes through the birth canal, will resolve themselves in a couple of days.)

Listening to her heart to see if there are any heart murmurs
Listening to her lungs to make sure she has no breathing problems
Checking for dislocation of the hips
Checking the mouth for cleft palate or tongue tie
Looking at the eyes to see if the baby has cataracts
Giving the baby a hearing test
Counting the baby’s fingers and toes
Examining the skin for birthmarks
Checking her reflexes
Checking that the genitals are normal – in the case of boys, that their testes are descended
Checking the spine to see if it is straight
Asking you if you have any concerns or whether the baby is having any problems.

Most babies will be fine. If this is the case with your baby, then her next check with a doctor will be when she is six-to-eight weeks old.

Feeding

For the first months of life, your baby will not need any solid food and will obtain the nutrients she needs from breastmilk or formula milk. (The World Health Organisation recommends that babies are not given solids until they are six months old.)

Breastfeeding

If you have chosen to breastfeed, your midwife will usually give you the opportunity to breastfeed your baby just after she has been born. You can hold your baby against your breast and guide her as she seeks your breast. Your baby may not want to feed straight away – some babies just enjoy a cuddle and can take an hour to latch on.

In the first few days after the baby is born, your breasts will produce colostrum. Colostrum is rich in antibodies and will help protect your baby against infection. A few days after birth, your breasts will start to make mature milk in larger quantities to match the needs of your growing baby.

Although breastmilk gives your baby an excellent start in life, some women do find breastfeeding difficult in the early days, and some babies have problems latching on. Your midwife and your health visitor will be able to give you some help if you encounter difficulties.

For more information on and help with breastfeeding, see the following pages:

If you would like further support with breastfeeding, you can also phone an NCT breastfeeding counsellor for help on 0300 330 0771. The lines are open from 8am to 10pm seven days a week.

Bottle-feeding

If you prefer to feed your baby with formula milk, you will need the following equipment:

Powdered milk for newborn babies
Six 250ml feeding bottles and bottle brush
Six bottle teats
A steam sterilizer

A large jug for hot water in which to reheat the bottleIt is extremely important, if you are bottle-feeding your baby, to make sure that you sterilize the bottles before each feed and make sure that you measure out the powder correctly.

See “Using infant formula: your questions answered” for more information.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is needed to make blood clot. Compared with adults, babies are born with low levels of vitamin K but the amount is usually enough to stop bleeding. A few babies, though, do not have enough vitamin K to prevent bleeding problems (which can be serious and, in some cases, fatal).

In most hospitals, it is usually routine to give a newborn baby a dose of Vitamin K, usually by injection but sometimes by mouth. However, deciding how, or even whether, vitamin K should be given is one of the first decisions you’ll need to make after your baby is born. See “Vitamin K” page for more information.

First nappies

Your baby will normally have her first wee in the outside world within a day of being born. She will also, at some point in the first few days, do her first poo, in which she passes meconium – which is initially black – made up of substances swallowed in the uterus, bile and secretions from the lining of the bowel. Within a few days, her stools will become greenish-brown in colour – a good sign that your baby is feeding well. By the end of the first week, her stools will be soft and bright yellow in colour if you are breastfeeding, and more solid and yellow-brown in colour if you are bottle-feeding her. See “What’s in a nappy?” for more information.

Looking after the cord stump

Once the baby’s cord has been cut, a short stump will remain. The midwife will place a white plastic clamp over the stump to make sure it doesn’t bleed. When the baby is three days old, the midwife will remove the clamp. You will need to clean the stump until it drops off (usually when your baby is about a week old.) You can clean it by wiping it with clean water and drying it with a cotton wool ball each time you change the baby’s nappy.

Taking care of yourself

After giving birth, you will probably feel exhausted. Some women feel exhilarated and have strong feelings of love and attachment towards their babies straight away, while others feel detached and numb for a time. About three-to-five days after birth you may suffer the “baby blues” – feelings of weepiness and irritability. These feelings usually pass after a day or so. See "Feeling down? Feelings after the birth of your baby" for more information.

After giving birth, you will experience blood loss (this is known as “lochia”). This can continue for up to six weeks after giving birth, though the flow will decrease after a few days. You will need to wear sanitary pads during this time. See “Blood loss after birth” for more information.

Every day while you are in hospital, and in the home visits after your baby is born, your midwife will check your:

Blood pressure
Temperature and pulse
Legs (for signs of thrombosis)
Breasts (for nipple soreness and signs of feeding difficulties)
Perineum (to check whether it is healing – for example if you have had stitches)