Physical care for neonates involves monitoring developmental milestones, managing digestive health, and addressing maternal postpartum mental health concerns.
Postpartum depression affects up to one in five women. Chrissy Teigen's depression after the birth of her baby shows that anyone can experience this serious condition that requires medical attention.
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Stopping your breast milk supply once it’s been established can be an uncomfortable process. Your breasts will still become engorged as production tapers off, requiring you to express milk to reduce your risk of developing mastitis.
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A well-balanced diet and proper hydration can help keep you and your breast-feeding baby healthy. Although vegetables provide rich amounts of vital nutrients and water, the American Pregnancy Association recommends avoiding certain varieties to prevent excessive gassiness in your little one.
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Drinking any alcohol while you are pregnant could seriously harm your baby, but drinking just one glass of wine while breastfeeding probably is safe for your newborn, according to La Leche League International.
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Knowing if your baby measures up to the average length and weight of a newborn baby is something most parents are curious about. While many moms and dads are eager to hold their baby, they are also curious about the health and size of their newest addition.
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Breastfeeding is one of the most nutritionally demanding times in a woman's life, particularly during the first three months of lactation, says Karlene Karst, a registered dietician, health specialist and author of "The Metabolic Syndrome Program."
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Weight gain is one of many indicators of good health in a newborn baby. Slow weight gain can be a sign of an underlying problem, according to Children’s Hospital Boston. That said, sometimes a perfectly healthy baby has a natural growth pattern that is slower than normal.
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Birth is a stressful event for a newborn. Newborns must make many physiologic adaptations immediately after birth, and any number of things can occur at that time. The circulatory system changes, a new oxygen source must be utilized, and the newborn must learn to coordinate sucking and swallowing to obtain nutrition.
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Depending on how early delivery occurs during pregnancy, a premature baby can have different characteristics than a full-term baby. Over time, the characteristics become less noticeable.
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Although a woman may not have reactions to ingredients in skin-care products prior to being pregnant, she needs to consider all the potentially harmful ingredients in the products during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
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Breastfeeding is a nutritionally demanding period of a woman’s life. While you breastfeed, your body requires enough nutrients to support your needs as well as your baby’s needs.
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Newborn babies are experiencing everything for the first time, including their first touch from mom and dad. This early contact helps promote healthy psychological and physical development. Lack of physical contact can prevent normal development and can even lead to higher rates of illness or death in infants.
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Newborns sleep up to 16 hours a day, according to KidsHealth, but it doesn’t always feel like that to new moms and dads when they are up feeding, changing, rocking and walking the floor with a baby in the middle of the night.
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It's often difficult for novice parents to accurately judge whether their newborn baby's behavior falls within the range of normal. Even perfectly normal newborn movements, sounds and behavior can seem odd to nervous first-time mothers and fathers.
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Vomiting due to a virus -- also known as gastroenteritis -- can be a common yet upsetting condition in children. When your child experiences a vomiting episode, your chief priority is to keep him hydrated while the virus runs its course.
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Breast-feeding has numerous proven health benefits for your baby, but in some cases you can't -- or don't want to -- continue breast-feeding.
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Without a fully developed immune system, you newborn runs the risk of catching whatever bug is currently ailing you. Although spreading an illness to your infant is likely during close encounters such as feeding, bathing changing or simply rocking your little one, you can reduce the risk by taking a few basic steps.
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Breastfeeding may be natural, but it doesn't always come easily to new moms. Getting the baby to latch on properly and then to release the nipple when he's done prevents injury to the nipple. If breastfeeding causes pain, you may become fearful of nursing.
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Newborns need to eat every few hours, since their stomachs don't hold very much milk at one time. It may take a few days for your baby to wake up and start eating normally after birth. A newborn that suddenly stops eating after that needs medical evaluation, unless you're offering feedings too close together.
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If your baby has dry, hard stools, she may be constipated. Babies follow their own schedules for defecation; you cannot identify irregularity by comparing your baby's bowel movements to a typical schedule for other children. However, if your baby defecates less often than is usual for her, she may need to see a doctor.
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