Well Baby Information Leaflet for Parents and Families

Well baby information leaflet for parents and families

What parents need to know about their newborn babies (this applies to only healthy, full term babies)

About breast feeding

• “Breast is best” – Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development. Exposing babies to artificial feeds early on life can put them at risk of all the disadvantages if bottle feeding. Feed the baby only mother’s milk. Breast milk offers many short term and long term advantages to the baby that artificial formulas cannot. These include reduction in child-hood infections, allergies and long term advantages like improved IQ, reduced incidence of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Babies cry a lot in the first few days – crying helps to open baby’s lungs and clear extra fluid in the lungs especially in the first 24 hours. Baby’s cry helps stimulate milk production in mother. Crying can be due to all sorts of different stimuli that the babies get exposed to like sound, light, discomfort, tiredness or hunger (hunger is only one of many reasons why babies cry)
• Babies need feed very frequently perhaps 1-3 hours, especially in the first few days
• It is by design that there is very little milk produced by mother in first24-48 hours. The baby’s stomach is small (size of a small lemon) and it does not need large volumes of milk
• The few drops of the rich milk that mother’s produce on day 1-2 is more than enough for the normal baby
• If the mother is having difficult in establishing breastfeeds after discharge, she should speak to hospital staff to provide necessary help and support
• Feed on demand rather than on a time schedule. Let the baby guide the mother with his/her feeding cues
• It is advised to go for executive breastfeeding(means no water, honey, tea, herbs or even formula) for up to 6 months
• After 6 months, one can start on weaning/complementary food and by 12 months the baby should be on predominantly solid food
• Offer both the breasts if demanded by baby. Remember to allow baby to finish one breast before offering the other
• No pre-lacteal feeds (honey, sugar, water) should be offered before breastfeeding. It not only hinders the successful initiation and establishment of breastfeeding, it also can cause infections, which can be life threatening.

About passing stools:

Babies will pass their first stool within maximum period of 24 hours. Later on, these stools which are black will turn to green and then yellow. Normal babies may pass up to 15-20 stools per day or even just one stool in 7 days. They are golden yellow, semi-soft, watery or granular. Normal babies may pass stool every time they are breastfed. Passing stools is considered one of the signs of successful feeding of new born babies

About urine

Babies usually pass urine at least once in the first 24 hours. They are supposed to pass urine at least 5-6 times per day after the first few days of their life. This is also a sign of adequacy of breast milk.

In the first few days, passing of pink or orange deposits in urine on diaper is normal. This is due to uric crystals in urine. Female infants can also pass small amount of blood due to the effect of maternal hormones.

About weight

Babies can lose up to 10% of their body weight in the first 10 days of life. This is due to the loss of excessmoisture in their skin. They regain their birth weight by 10-14 days.

About umbilical cord

The umbilical cord is a lifeless cord after delivery. It gradually shrivels up and separates by day 7 to day 10 of life. There is no need to apply anything on the cord as an antiseptic. It should be kept dry. Clea the skin around the cord with a cotton wool or cloth dipped in lukewarm water. If the skin around the cord area becomes red or it starts smelling, consult your doctor immediately. If the does not separate by day 14, then it should be brought to notice of your doctor.

About jaundice

Jaundice (yellow color of skin) is observed in most of the newborn babies. It is observed by day 2-3 of their life on face, eyes and increases up to day 7 to day 10 and disappears by day 14 of life. This is accepted as normal.

Jaundice in newborn unlike adults is not a disease but the norm. It occurs due to high haemoglobin count and an immature liver. Moreover, decreased feeding in initial days may increase the jaundice. Jaundice in normal levels is not harmful to babies. Jaundice progresses from head to toe. It is difficult to predict jaundice only with the help of visual assessment. Hence, a blood test or skin test is sometimes required to assess the level of jaundice that needs light treatment. Generally, most jaundiced babies do not require any treatment (even sunlight). In cases where jaundice is high, phototherapy (light treatment with special blue lights) may be required.

Bathing the baby:

One can start bathing the babies when the clinical staff has told them that the baby is well. Most babies enjoy bath times. Things to keep in mind regarding bath times are:

• Keep the water warm, babies dislike cold
• Wash the face first, then the body and at the end the head. The whole thing should last from 4 to 6 minutes.
• Avoid soap and shampoos for first two months. Baby’s skin is very sensitive and soaps wash away the natural coating of the skin making it dry and prone to irritation and inflammation
• From the end of first week, one can use any natural oil to massage the baby’s skin from head to toe and then wash in warm water as mentioned above

Newborn screening blood test:

All babies born in UAE are screening for a set of rare but treatable conditions. This is done from a hell prick test after 48 hours and within 7 days of life.

These diseases cannot be diagnosed by examining the baby.

• Only blood test can reveal abnormality
• If test is abnormal and treatment is started early, the child can lead a normal life

The tests are sent to a reference laboratory and results are available within 7-14 days. The laboratory will communicate any abnormal results to the hospital and the baby will be called back for further tests and treatment

Worrying symptoms in a baby

• Sudden colour change (e.g. white, deep yellow or blue)
• Fever (more than 37.5o Celsius)
• Cold baby
• Excessive vomiting especially green color
• Full, tense stomach
• Bleeding
• Breathing difficulty (breathing too fast or too shallow, making grunting noises)
• Excess and continuous crying
• Lethargy/excessive sleeping/appearing “unwell or sick”

About immunization

Immunization (vaccination) is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting child against some devastating and fatal diseases. The risk from having these diseases is much greater than the risk of any minor side effects from vaccines. Before your baby is immunized, the doctor will check with you that your child is well and able to receive the vaccines. We strongly recommend that the baby is immunized in accordance with the local immunization program which is available from your health care provider on request.