Care for Your Newborn Baby

Newborn babies look weak, but they aren't as fragile as you think. In just a few weeks, you will comprehend the skills of nurturing your baby. Here are some treatments for newborns that need attention.

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Umbilical cord care.

Baby's umbilical cord needs to be cleaned and dried to speed up healing. Every  diaper changing, fold the diaper below the belly button in order not to harm the navel cord. Allow the cord to dry naturally; don’t rub it with alcohol. Don’t worry if there are little spots of blood on the diaper when the umbilical cord is healing. But if it’s bleeding a lot, get medical attention immediately. Don’t pull on the cord, let it loose by itself, usually occurs 1-2 weeks after birth. If it doesn’t come off after 3 weeks, contact your doctor.

Scalp treatment.

Cradle cap is a form of eczema that is not detrimental to baby’s health, but it isn’t a  pretty sight. The cure: rub with baby oil, wait for 30 minutes, then slowly remove the scales using baby comb and shampoo. Be sure to wipe clean baby oil on the head, because the rest of baby oil can worsen the condition. Do it every time before baby bathing. Scales will be gone in 1-2 weeks.

SIDS safety.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the sudden deaths under 1 year old when the baby is sleeping. There’s a fact that 90% SIDS occurred when the first 6 months of age, most often affects infants aged 2 and 4 months.

The possible causes are still not clear, yet SIDS usually occurs in the winter, and baby boys at greater risk. In the United States, SIDS happens to 1: 1400 babies. The study mentioned that supine sleeping position may reduce the chance of SIDS.

Other important ways: avoid cigarette smoke around the baby, don’t place cushiony sleeping items in the crib, keep the room temperature is not too hot, and give breast milk to increase the baby's immune system against respiratory infections.

Baby acne.

Small pink protrusion on baby's face and chest, which is often the case in the age of 2 weeks and 4 weeks, due to the release of mother hormones from the baby's body systems. So, make sure the baby's skin clean and dry, don’t squeeze pimples or grease any medicine on it. Acne will disappear in a few weeks, a little longer in breast-fed babies.