How to bathe it, food or sleep are aspects that generate uncertainty and some anguish because a newborn is the most defenseless being that exists. For this reason, the most important aspects of their care and health must be recognized, so that parents and caregivers identify if everything is going well or if there are any warning symptoms to consult immediately.
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skin-to-skin contact
As soon as your child is born, skin-to-skin contact is essential to continue the connection that has been established from the womb. This consists of placing the baby directly on the mother’s abdomen and chest after birth or in the first half hour of the child’s life.Of course, if there is no medical or obstetric complication that prevents it.
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It is one of the most beautiful techniques used as soon as the baby is born and that facilitates feeding, activates processes and avoids complications. In addition, it produces an indescribable emotion in the mother that no other moment can replace.
protective vaccines
Undoubtedly, your child’s vaccination schedule, which starts from day one and continues for the first 5 years of life with subsequent reinforcements, can never be overlooked. In Colombia, there is the Expanded Immunization Plan (PAI), which includes the first dose of hepatitis B. This is received by the little one in the clinic after birth and before going home, and it not only protects him, but also applied in the first 12 hours serves as treatment in case of hepatitis in the mother.
The second vaccine that is applied is the Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), known as the tuberculosis vaccine and which protects babies against lung diseases such as the one mentioned. At two months the child will receive the next dose.
Breastfeeding, food of life
It is essential that the mother breastfeeds her little one from the first hour of life and, at least, for the first six months, seeking to extend it even more, since the components of human milk facilitate growth and psychomotor, physical and mental development. emotional, as well as protects him from multiple diseases.
(In addition: Reinforcements, essential for vaccines to protect the baby).
It is a food rich in minerals, vitamins, sugars and proteins; In addition, through this the mother transmits unique defenses and micronutrients to her child.without counting that it is a free food and always ready for consumption that promotes the attachment of the child to the mother.
Starting the loving and healthy practice of breastfeeding is not always easy, so keep in mind to take a proper position to breastfeed. Always facing you, “tummy to belly”, watching that your child sucks and does not choke on the milk.
It is important that you recognize the baby’s early signs of hunger: increased activity or alertness, rapid eye movements, searching action, hand to mouth, sucking, whining, clicking or crying . These are a late sign of hunger.
Now, do not forget that the baby must be fed on demand, not due to strict schedules.
Urine and ‘popis’ say a lot
Your newborn’s first bowel movement is called meconium and it is important that you verify that your little one has his first in the clinic before taking him home. Small bowel movements are more frequent than in an older child or an adult, so it is normal that you have to change it 3 to 5 times and more a day.
So too, It is normal for the poop to appear most of the time after you feed it., which does not mean that the food is completely discarded, only that its processes occur like this. It is not to be alarmed.
During the first couple of days of life, your baby will have a sticky, black or dark green substance that comes from the intestines and was collected during pregnancy. Meconium is made up of bile, mucus, cells of the intestinal wall, secretions and amniotic fluid, and although its appearance is not pleasant, it is a sign that the baby’s intestines are working normally.
Watch out for warning signs
When your newborn presents vomiting through the mouth and nose; diarrhea with blood or mucus; fever (measured with a thermometer of 38 degrees Celsius), even if it is a single episode; if you see that he sleeps more than normal and that he does not wake up when stimulated or by offering food; if he convulses; they have purple lips; is very yellow, or if he is having difficulty breathing (his ribs cave in, he is breathing very fast and he appears agitated), go to a health care center immediately to determine the cause of any of these symptoms.
Do not administer home remedies since at their young age they can produce unwanted effects on your child.
Besides, the mother’s colostrum or ‘first milk’ acts as a laxative, which will help your baby expel the meconium. Once your milk is free of colostrum, after about three days, your baby’s stool will change from green-brown to a deep yellow, or mustard.
Yellow poop may have a mild odor and its stools will be soft but have a texture, sometimes appearing grainy and other times lumpy; the most important thing is that it never contains abundant mucus and/or pints of blood.
The navel, care and connection
The umbilical cord is the conduit that kept the mother’s placenta and fetus in contact during their life in the womb. Through him your baby received oxygen and food. When the child is born, this conduit is cut because it will no longer depend on it to live, but it will put its lungs into operation to receive oxygen and its digestive tract to feed itself.
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While the child has the cord, parents should clean it only with water and not apply any other substance: neither soaps, nor creams, nor alcohol; water is enough. As the days go by, the cord acquires a dry and brown appearance, until between 5 and 15 days it will fall off on its own and without you taking any action to detach it. When it falls off, cleaning the area should be the same, that is, only with water.
dream that feeds
Newborn sleep is one of the most complex issues to handle for new parents, because it seems to them that their babies sleep a lot. This scares them or creates conflict with feeding, as they wonder how they will be able to feed it with the required frequency if it is sleeping.
Experts maintain that newborns sleep a lot in their first days of life and that in general they wake up only to eat or when something bothers them: feeling hungry, cold, hot or uncomfortable due to a dirty or wet diaper.
In addition, some say that the sleep of the newborn “feeds” them, a correct statement since the biological and natural process of sleep is as important as breastfeeding and in the first months of life it contributes to the maturation processes of the central nervous system, mainly of the brain. This allows the production of growth hormone and stimulates the physical and mental development of the baby.
It is also known that newborns do not identify day from night, so it is essential that parents understand this and ensure that the little one, little by little, adjusts to those spaces by establishing cycles of light and darkness.
Yellow skin? An alert color
Jaundice or yellow coloration of the skin of newborns is a frequent cause of consultation in the emergency services. This yellow tone is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin in the skin, and if it occurs, the ally is sunlight, since direct exposure allows excess bilirubin to be expelled from the body. If it occurs, go to the pediatrician, who will tell you what to do and how to give your baby ‘sun baths’, at least twice a day during the first days of life.
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The sessions, as the doctor will tell you, must be done with the child completely naked: Don’t think about leaving him T-shirts, hats or stockings so he doesn’t get burned because what he needs is to be exposed to light, not heat; therefore, it does not matter if the day is cloudy or if you live in a cold climate; it is enough that it is exposed to daylight.
Affection, knowledge and prevention
It may seem obvious, but multiple scientific studies support that parent-child contact and affective relationships, even from the womb, are of vital importance for the neurological development of the baby. For this reason, parents should speak to him with a soft and gentle voice while feeding him, turning that moment into an opportunity to show him all the love they feel for him. In addition, they should try to establish eye contact, that is, looking at his face.
On the other hand, newborns require adequate medical controls and that is why, without fail, they must attend the control 3 days after birth in order to guarantee adequate care and growth of the child.
Subsequently, other periodic visits to the pediatrician will come, which will be spaced out over time, but during the first year they are vital month by month since the check-ups verify their proper development and health.
An issue that worries parents a lot is sudden death syndrome, an illness that affects children from birth to three months of life on average, and in which cases a specific cause is unknown.
To prevent it, there are certain recommendations, such as always laying the baby on his back, not using pillows or comforters in his crib, using a mattress that is not too soft, and leaving the crib area free of dolls and stuffed animals. You should also avoid contaminating the environment or the house where you live with the child with cigarette smoke.
In addition, avoid visits to your baby in the first month, at least, because although the desire to meet him is very laudable, there is a risk of coming into contact with viruses and bacteria such as those that transmit flu or respiratory infections.
*Information with the professional advice of Martha Beltrán, pediatrician and emergency department manager at Clínica La Colina (Bogotá), and Diana Vanessa Suárez, pediatrician at the Universidad Libre de Cali, belonging to Hospital Los Ángeles de Pasto.
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