Expecting a baby is an extraordinary time in your life, and you want the very best for your precious newborn after the delivery. Dr. Marak and the team at Ross Bridge Medical Center Pediatrics in Hoover, Alabama, provide exceptional prenatal and newborn care. Call the clinic today to find out more, or book an appointment online.
Whether this is your first baby or your third, having a newborn is exciting and stressful. Newborn care refers to the wellness checks provided by the team at Ross Bridge Medical Center Pediatrics after you bring your baby home from the hospital.
The team schedules your first visit about 3-5 days after birth. During this visit, your provider checks your baby’s weight, length, and head circumference and asks you how well your baby is eating, pooping, and sleeping.
This newborn care visit also gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about caring for your baby, as well as concerns.
Your provider talks to you about what you can expect during the first few weeks with your newborn and when you should call the office. You then schedule your newborn’s next well child exam at or around the one-month mark.
Your newborn needs a vitamin K injection because babies don’t receive a high enough level of this vitamin from their mothers before they’re born or when breastfeeding.
Vitamin K is important for helping the blood to clot, and if a newborn doesn’t have a shot, they are more at risk from bleeding in the brain. One injection protects your baby for several months.
In addition to the vitamin K shot, your newborn needs an application of ointment in their eyes to help prevent infection that babies can get that causes blindness.
Your medical team also plays a key role in helping you bond with your baby by encouraging skin-to-skin contact and assisting with the first feed.
For most new mothers, there’s a huge sense of relief when their baby is pronounced fit and well.
Some mothers, however, have to face the prospect of a baby being taken away because of concerns about their newborn’s health.
For example, if you have gestational diabetes, medical staff need to treat the baby after birth because their blood sugar drops so dramatically after the umbilical cord is cut.
Other potential problems include:
If your newborn has any of these symptoms, Dr. Marak and her team take expert care of them; and if the team needs to take the baby away, they return them to you as soon as possible.
Give your baby the best start in life at Ross Bridge Medical Center Pediatrics. Call the clinic today to find out more, or book an appointment online.
