2023-07-12 21:22:00
No matter how much you prepare for parenthood, following the birth of a child, a lot of questions will still arise, the answers to which will have to be searched on the Internet. We collected popular questions from moms and dads and asked Natalia Lopushanskaya, a pediatrician at the European Medical Center (EMC), to answer them.
1. How and when to start bathing a newborn?
You can bathe a healthy newborn the very next day following discharge. The umbilical cord is not a contraindication. When bathing, it is important to hold the baby firmly so that he does not slip into the water. Do not be distracted, constantly visually control the position of the body of the newborn. Watch out for holding the head, as the neck muscles in babies are poorly developed. The hand of an adult should support both the torso and the head at the same time. You should not be afraid that water will get into your ears: an air lock in the external auditory canal prevents deep penetration of the liquid. As well as the fact that water gets into the eyes of a newborn.
Photo: Nikuwka / Shutterstock / Fotodom
2. Newborn spit up a lot: is this normal?
Regurgitation in infants can be both physiological, that is, a consequence of the immaturity of the digestive organs in a healthy child, and pathological, that is, a consequence of a disease of the digestive system, endocrine system, or the result of an acute infectious process, and sometimes a signal of acute surgical pathology. Only a doctor can decide how safe regurgitation is in a newborn.
3. A newborn wakes up for 5 minutes and immediately falls asleep: what is happening, should he be fed in this interval?
The nervous system of a newborn remains immature following birth, so the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness may not be ideal. But babies have other reasons to wake up. These include colic – spasms in the intestines and excessive gas formation can cause pain and contribute to awakening.
If the child woke up at a time when it is not yet time for him to eat, he does not cry, try to put him down once more, evaluate the air temperature in the room (the child may be hot or cold). If the time has come for feeding, then, most likely, the reason for awakening is the need to replenish energy reserves.
4. A newborn cries a lot: what to do?
I think the best answer would be to see a doctor. To understand how often the baby cries, how much and for how long, the doctor needs to ask the parents in detail. Also, the doctor will try to establish a connection between the cry and feeding, bathing and defecation. The challenge is to understand how disturbing crying is and what causes it. When the doctor understands the reasons, the question of what to do, or not to do anything, if this is a variant of the norm, will be decided by itself.
Фото: Natalia Lebedinskaia / Shutterstock / Fotodom
5. Is it necessary to supplement a newborn in the heat if he is breastfed?
According to the WHO recommendation, a child under 6 months of life on full breastfeeding can not be supplemented. But in this case, the volume of breast milk will also be higher, so it will be used not only as food, but also as a drink. WHO recommends breastfeeding instead of a bottle of water. If the mother has enough milk, then the recommendation can be followed.
If there are problems with milk, then in hot weather, when the air temperature exceeds 25 ° C, you can supplement it with water. With an increase in external temperature, the child releases more moisture from the surface of the skin, which can lead to a deficiency of fluid in the body. The amount of water that can be given to the baby during the day is determined by a single feeding volume.
6. A newborn does not poop for a day: when to start worrying and what to do?
The absence of stool in a newborn is evaluated in conjunction with other factors. If, for example, the baby has not pooped for a day and at the same time screams loudly, spits up profusely and refuses milk, then intestinal pathology should be excluded. If the lack of a chair does not bother a small person in any way, then this should not cause excitement among parents either. A healthy baby may well have breaks in bowel movements for up to 2-3 days (and for breastfed babies – up to 7). In the case when constipation causes pain in the abdomen and, as a result, anxiety of the newborn, stimulants should be used, which the doctor will prescribe to the parents. They are different for different children.
7. The child often hiccups: should I be worried?
Hiccups are common to all babies. Even in the stomach, mothers feel when the child hiccups. This is not a cause for concern. Hiccups, like many other processes in the baby’s body, are associated with the immaturity of the nervous system. Over time, this phenomenon occurs much less frequently. Again, if the hiccups are prolonged and bother the baby, you can consult a pediatrician.
8. A baby often sticks out his tongue: what does this mean?
Most of the time, this doesn’t mean anything bad. But it happens that the tongue involuntarily protrudes from the oral cavity due to a size mismatch. The degree of dysfunction of this action can be determined by the doctor. He will also explain how this symptom reflects the pathology of the endocrine or other system.
Photo: Natalia Bostan / Shutterstock / Fotodom
9. A newborn has a strange color of feces, what should it be like?
The feces of a newborn can be of any color. The range of shades is variable, but definitely the feces should not be red, that is, with blood. This is an alarming symptom of the pathology of the digestive tract. Normally, the feces of a breastfed newborn are yellow-brown (honey, mustard) in color, interspersed with whitish grains. Formula-fed babies normally have brown stools with green additions.
10. Why put the baby on the stomach?
Laying out on the stomach is the first fitness exercise for the baby. In this position, pressure is created on the anterior abdominal wall, this reduces bloating and pain, and also promotes the passage of gases. By placing the baby on the stomach, you can use innate reflexes to perform exercises (by pressing on the soles, you provoke the extension of the legs and the “crawling” of the newborn). Closer to 1 month, the baby, lying on his stomach, begins to raise his head. As a result of this, not only the muscles of the neck develop, but also the correct cervical curvature of the spine is formed.
11. A newborn has crusts on his head: what is it and what to do with them?
The so-called milk crusts (“lullaby cap”, “gneiss”) occur in every 4th newborn. They reflect the features of the sebaceous glands. Scales on the scalp do not bother the child, can persist for up to nine months, but pass on their own, so you can do nothing with them. If parents are embarrassed by their appearance, you can use special creams “from milk crusts” and comb them out.
12. How many times a day should a newborn be fed?
Since newborns eat not only during the day, but also at night, we are talking regarding the number of feedings per day. Usually the baby himself sets the feeding regimen. An average baby with a sufficient amount of milk from his mother or on artificial feeding eats 7-8 times a day, that is, with an interval of 2.5-3 hours. If the child does not suckle well or the mother’s milk is not enough for a full-fledged “meal”, the interval between feedings may be reduced and the number of feedings reaches 10-12 per day.
Photo: Romanova Anna / Shutterstock / Fotodom
13. When can I go out for the first time with a newborn?
The time of the first walk depends on the season when the child was born, and, accordingly, the air temperature outside. In late spring and summer, when it is as warm outside as in the apartment, you can walk right following discharge. In the colder season (autumn, winter, early spring), walks begin on the 7th, and sometimes on the 10th day of life at a temperature not lower than -5 ° C. Their duration should be short. As the baby grows and strengthens, with appropriate warming (clothes, an envelope), you can go outside even at -10 ° C, and increase the duration of being in the air to 1.5–2 hours (if the adult himself can withstand so much).
14. After how many days can a child have contact with other people? When can I invite grandparents to visit?
When a newborn comes into contact with relatives, it is important to make sure that they are all healthy and do not currently suffer from a contagious infectious disease. The same rule applies to acquaintances who are not relatives. If everyone is healthy, then there are no contraindications for communicating with the child on the first day.
Visiting public places (shopping centers, restaurants, etc.) with a newborn has a certain risk and is at the discretion of the parents themselves. Here you can consult a doctor.
15. Does a newborn need to be examined following birth? Which? How often?
In the maternity hospital, some examinations are provided immediately following birth. These include: a hearing test (audiometry), a risk assessment for the manifestation of genetic diseases (neonatal screening) by a blood test, a heart check (ECHO-KG), ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and brain (neurosonography).
Individually (children from risk groups) assess the level of hemoglobin, bilirubin, glucose or other necessary indicators.
A month following birth, the baby should be examined by a pediatrician. At the same age, the first medical examination is carried out. It includes an examination by specialist doctors (ophthalmologist, neurologist, surgeon, dentist), abdominal ultrasound, neurosonography, ECHO-KG and ultrasound of the hip joints.
Laboratory tests of blood and urine (in the absence of previously identified pathology and the need for control) are carried out at 2 months. An orthopedic examination is scheduled for 3 months. Further, until reaching 12 months of age, the child is regularly examined by a pediatrician.
Cover photo: Denis—S / Shutterstock / Fotodom
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