Having a newborn in the home is an exciting time for the whole family. It can also be quite a learning experience as well. The parents must learn to adapt to the baby just as much as the baby is learning to adapt to them. Newborn health should be followed very closely to all the resources you will be provided with from the pediatrician and also from any books or online resources you can get your hands on.
To fulfill your newborn health you must start during pregnancy. Everything that the mother does and is involved in during the pregnancy will directly effect the infant. This means you cannot engage in any foods, drinks or medications that may be unsafe for your baby. Alcohol and drugs are never a wise option for any pregnant woman, medications even the ones that can be purchased at the store as an over the counter medication should not be taken unless your doctor gives the ok to do so. Eating a nutritional diet and getting every visit in to the doctor to ensure your baby will be safe and healthy is key.
Once the baby is born and you have your little bundle of joy the next step in newborn health should be to provide that same good nutrition to your infant as well. All newborns have a different eating schedule and they will have different personal preferences for how well they eat and when they sleep. A newborn that is full is one that will sleep very well. Next you must always work closely with your newborn’s doctor to get all the immunizations they need to continue being healthy and to grow and develop just as planned. It is the choice of the parents to get these immunizations which will be something to discuss prior to giving birth. When you do deliver the baby, it is the first days they are in the hospital that they are given their very first immunizations so you need to have that established before going there to advise the nursing staff of what your decision is.
Keeping the baby is safe at all times is another large factor of good overall newborn health. A newborn cannot really get around very well as they cannot even sit up yet, but what they can do very quickly is roll over and they can also scratch themselves and pull blankets over their heads and many babies nearly suffocate themselves in the process. Always keep smaller blankets in the newborn’s crib or place them in a blanket sleeper that they will not harm themselves in and also stay warm while they are sleeping. Newborns are generally simple to care for as they must eat every few hours and the rest of the day they essentially spend sleeping. Keep your newborn clean, dry and fed and the weeks will go by very fast until they begin to reach certain milestones in their lives such as walking and talking so enjoy the quiet weeks as they do grow up very fast.
