The first few days

The first few days

The first few days of a babies life are at times spent in hospital where you baby has been born or sometimes you may be at home.

***Key Points***

Your baby is learning about the world and you are learning about your baby. Take time

Your baby is brand new, needs to be fed often and most of all needs to be reassured and feel safe enough to grow and develop in their new world.

***Key Points***

***Feeding***

Your baby will want to feed between every 2-4 hours usually in the first few days. It tiring, its exhausting but its temporary.

Your mature milk will come in on day 3 (ish) or around 72 hours after birth and your baby will then settle more between feeds. Don’t worry, this period will be short lived.

Baby’s can’t speak yet but they can give off little cues in their movements and cries.  It takes time to learn what your baby is trying to tell you.

It’s normal to feed anywhere between 6-12 times in a 24 hour period.

Wet and dirty nappies are a great indicator of how much milk your baby is getting

***Feeding***

***Bathing***

Bath your baby

Some babies love the sensation of being submerged in a warm, bit some don’t.  Ask the Midwife to help you if this is the first bath for you or your partner.

You don’t need to bath your newborn baby every day – you can wash your babie sface and bottom every other day.

When you are home establishing a nightly routine in time is a great way to create a bed time rhythm.

You don’t need any fancy soaps, oils or bath products. Warm water is great and gentle on your baby’s skin. You can use a vegetable based oil for your baby after their bath.

***Bathing***

***Hearing test***

Hearing tests

You will be offered a number of tests while in hospital. On day 1 or 2 after birth your baby will be offered a hearing test.

The newborn hearing test is a routine health check that will be offered to your baby soon after birth in private and public hospitals. The newborn hearing test is used to help detect any degree of hearing loss in babies. If your baby has hearing loss from birth (congenital hearing loss) it’s important to recognise this soon after birth. Early detection can mean you and a team of health professionals can provide support to enhance your child’s language, as well develop their social and emotional skills

The hearing test should ideally be performed before your baby leaves hospital after the birth.

The results of the test will be given to you immediately after the screen. Some babies will need to do a second test if the results of the first one are not clear.

***Hearing test***

***Screening test***

Screening test

All parents are offered the opportunity to have their baby screened for a number of rare disorders that are more easily treated if found early. The ‘newborn screening’ test is offered at around 48 hours of age. You might also hear it called the ‘heel prick’ test.

Newborn screening tests are free. The tests are not compulsory and a verbal or written agreement  is required from the parents of the child before the heel prick test is performed.

Most babies screened will not have any of the conditions but for the small number that do, there are enormous benefits to identifying these. Early treatment can improve their health and prevent severe disability or even death

A Midwife will perform the test by pricking your baby’s heel and putting a few drops of blood on a special filter paper.

Newborn screening helps to identify a range of conditions, including:

• Phenylketonuria (PKU) —

A baby diagnosed with  Phenylketonuria cannot metabolise one of the building blocks of protein called phenylalanine. This then accumulates in the blood stream and causes brain damage. This is a rare inherited condition that can cause severe learning difficulties. Early treatment with a special diet can prevent the effects of this condition.

• Congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) —

Hypothyroidism affects about 1 in 3,500 babies. It is caused by the thyroid gland not developing properly in pregnancy and therefore not producing sufficient thyroxine. Early treatment with daily thyroid hormone means your baby will grow and develop as expected.

• Cystic Fibrosis 

Cystic fibrosis affects 1 in every 2,500 babies. Cystic fibrosis affects the mucus produced in the intestines and lungs and means this is is thicker than normal. This results in infections in the lungs and the intestines and can lead to difficulties with digesting food properly.

Approximately 95% of babies are with Cystic fibrosis are detected by the heal prick test. At times the test may also identify a group of babies who are healthy but a carrier of the disease. Babies with a positive test result will need a sweat test at about 6 weeks of age to determine whether the baby has CF or is only a healthy carrier. A healthy carrier is not affected by Cystic Fibrosis and will lead a healthy life.

• Galactosaemia

An extremely rare disorder only affecting 1 in 40,000 babies. The disorder is caused by the accumulation of galactose (a type of sugar in milk) in the blood. Prompt treatment with special galactose-free milk will prevent serious illness. Without treatment, a baby may become very sick and die.

• Other rare metabolic disorders 

The blood tested in the heel prick test can be tested for a range of other very rare metabolic disorders such as such as amino acid, organic acid and fatty acid oxidation defects. Collectively these disorders occur in 1 of every 4,000 babies and so are rare. These conditions are often treatable with specialised care and diets.

Physical health check

A Midwife will undertake a full heath check of your baby usually after 48 hours.

They will re-weigh your baby

Most babies will lose a percentage of their birth weight in the first 24-48 hours. This is normal as they are taking in small amounts of colostrum and metabolising brown fat for energy. This should be no greater than 10% of their birth weight.

Your baby will have a full examination to check the shape of their head, their eyes and ears, the roof of their mouth and tongue, their genitals, skin, hands and feet, spine and hips. In the rare event that any problems are found, the doctor or midwife might order further tests.

***Screening test***

***Vaccination***

Vaccination

The first vaccination is offered to you in hopsital.

This is your baby’s hepatitis B vaccinations which is given as an injection into the baby’s leg muscle.

The next vaccinationn is available at 6 weeks of age and your MCHN will discuss all the options with you during the first visit.

***Vaccination***

***Taking your baby home***

You will need a rear facing care capsule fitted to your car if travelling home by car.

You will need some nappies, clothing for your baby and a wrap or blanket to transfer your baby home.

See the Talkingbirth content page on safe baby products when setting up the nursery at home.

***Taking your baby home***