Immediate Care of Newborns: 10 Strange Things Every Parent Needs To Know About Their Baby At Birth

Sharing is caring!

The immediate care of newborns at birth is hardly talked about. I find that new parents are always surprised by their newborn babies and what it will be like to take care of them immediately after birth. That's not to say that these parents didn't try to come prepared. People love to give advice to expecting parents about what having a newborn baby is going to be like. We've all heard about the 10 diapers a day and the all-nighters that we're going to be pulling, but that can't really be it, can it? Not quite.

You might not realize it now, but you are going to have so many more questions once your baby is born and your nurse hands her over to you so that you can actually take care of her and, you know…keep her alive.

Click here to jump down to the podcast show notes

I want to give you all the goods about what to expect about the immediate care of your newborn after birth. Your mom, mother-in-law, and all of your mom friends are full of wisdom about what to expect after you bring your newborn home (and they might even offer help in those times) but what about when you're still in the hospital and everything about this mysterious little person seems so foreign to you? 

What To Expect Immediately After Birth

As a labor and delivery nurse, these are the top 10 concerns I'm constantly hearing about from anxious new parents (and experienced ones) with perfectly normal newborns. Most of the time, these concerns are voiced between the first two minutes and the first two hours of their baby's life!

Everyone needs a little refresher when it comes to the immediate care of newborns. Don't worry. If these things surprise you, you aren't alone.

• Related Read: Expect The Unexpected: Preparing Moms For The Newborn Stage

This post might contain affiliate links. To learn more, you can read my full disclosure here. 

Please note: I am not a doctor and I am not giving medical advice. The information that I provide on this website is not intended to diagnose, or treat any form of any disease.  This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am only telling you what worked for me. Please refer to my Disclaimer Page for more information.

1. She's not crying

You've been anticipating your baby's first cry for days, hours, weeks now and you are begging God to let the second stage of labor just end already. You can't wait to hold that baby in your arms and hear her sweet cry. Finally she arrives and…nothing.

The first 30 seconds after your baby is born might feel like an eternity when you're waiting for those precious sounds but just giver her time, mama. I can't tell you how many times the baby comes out and the mom almost instantly says, “why isn't she crying?” and I have to calmly let them know that it is OK if she doesn't cry right away.

Yes, it's true, part of the immediate care of newborns at birth is trying to get them to cry to let us know that their lungs are working just fine on their own. Let me tell you something though, what matters is that she is breathing not actually crying. If your baby never screams but is turning nice and pink and has normal lung sounds, we really don't care that she isn't actually crying.

Another scenario that happens frequently is that your baby will cry initially and then stop crying and is quiet for hours to come. Sometimes mom will continuously try to get that baby to cry because she thinks that's what her baby is supposed to do. Relax, girl. Unless there is a concern that your nurse or doctor has expressed to you, be thankful that your baby is giving you some peace and quiet and enjoy the silence while you still can.

When to be concerned:

If your baby isn't crying immediately after birth, read your nurse. I'm not even going to tell you to “read your baby” yet because yes, your baby might be bluish tint in the first seconds after birth, your newborn may looked stunned, and that might terrify you. But if your nurse is still smiling, rubbing your baby's back and encouraging her to cry, just practice trust in this moment.

In the first five minutes, your nurse will be giving your baby a score called the APGAR score. If they tell you your baby's APGAR score is anywhere between 7-10, your newborn is PERFECTLY NORMAL and there is no need to worry. Below 7 and there might be something going on with baby that needs some medical intervention. Ask questions to stay informed, and trust the team that you have taking care of you and your little one.

2. Her hands and feet are blue

After birth, your baby will be given to you and their hands and feet might remain blue or dusky. This might seem like a concern for many parents but it is normal and expected. It is called Acrocyanosis and it is due to their vasomotor instability. The acrocyanosis will usually disappear after the baby gets warm and acclimated to her external environment but may continue to return for the next couple of months every time she gets cold, like when she gets out of the bath.

When to be concerned:

If the baby's face, chest, or mucous membranes are turning blue get medical assistance right away.

3. Her Head is oddly shaped

“Is her head going to stay this way?”. I hear it all the time. Oh my goodness, No!

Being born is a tough job. Every contraction that you experience, your baby experiences too. That baby had been pushing against your pelvis and through your birth canal for hours and her head took the brunt of it.

Have no fear; your baby's temporary cone head is totally normal. The baby's skull is made up of bones that are flexible and they are not fused together yet. The bones in the skull have small gaps between them in order to allow the head to shape to your pelvis and birth canal as the baby passes through. It's other purpose is a pretty important one- as your baby's precious brain grows, so will her skull. If her bones were fused together at birth, we would have a problem.

During the immediate care of newborns, we call this movement of the bones “molding” and it usually resolves within a week.

When to be concerned:

If your baby has an oddly shaped head or flat spots after 4-6 months old, talk to your pediatrician.

4. Her breathing is irregular

Newborns breathe a lot faster than adults do so it might seem like they are always out of breath. Their normal respiratory rate is 30-60 breaths per minute while ours is about 12-20 breaths per minute. While they are crying or cooing you might not notice it, but once they fall asleep, you might fear that your baby is breathing rapidly, unevenly, or it might even seem shallow.

Sometimes she might have a small pause here and there but don't panic. It's actually very normal for a newborn to have pauses between periods of rapid breathing. This is all very typical of newborn breathing patterns.

When to be concerned:

If your baby ever stops breathing for longer than 20 seconds or begins to look blue or limp, seek medical attention right away.

5. She is covered in hair

Some parents will even call it “fur” instead of “hair”. It's usually just a thin layer of dark hair and it's called Lanugo. The purpose of Lanugo is to keep the fetus warm while still in utero when she doesn't have enough body fat to do the job.

Don't worry she's not “hairy like Daddy”. I laugh when I hear this. Fortunately, the hair usually falls off by the time your baby is two months old.

When to be concerned:

Your baby's Lanugo will shed within a couple of weeks or months. So, just don't let this be a concern so early on. You've got enough to worry about.

6. She sneezes a lot

No, the immediate care of newborns does not include assessing to see what your baby is allergic to. Don't worry, she's not allergic to you and she doesn't have a cold. She was in your womb two seconds ago. This is just a way for your baby to clear her nose.

Keep in mind that everything outside of your body is completely new to her. Not to mention, those little nostrils of hers are exposed to the air for the first time ever and every little dust particle is irritating to her! It's normal to expect her to be a little sensitive to everything around her for a while.

When to be concerned:

If her sneezing is accompanied by wheezing or difficulty breathing, have your nurse or pediatrician assess her to make sure it's not something more.

7. You just fed her, but she's still hungry

Newborns eat very often. I'll say it once and I will say it again. It is easy to hear when you are pregnant, but when you actually have to live it, it gets a little more difficult.

There is no need to be alarmed even if your breastfed baby wants to be fed upwards of 15 times a day. If you're doing the math, yes, that is more than every two hours throughout the day. The truth is, breastfeeding mammas will sometimes spend up to 12 hours a day feeding their baby.

I know you've heard that you are going to feed our newborn every 2-3 hours. Truly though, let that be a minimum in the very beginning of your baby's life. Allow your baby to nurse as frequently as she needs those first days and don't automatically think that just because she is still hungry means that you are unable to breastfeed or you don't have enough milk.

• Related Read: Breastfeeding 101: How To Feed Your Newborn

The more frequently you allow her to suckle, the quicker both of you will start to get the hang of it. Her frequent demands for nursing is one of the many things that mother nature has done right. Nursing frequently will increase your milk supply to meet their needs as they grow.

When to be concerned:

If your baby loses more than 10% of her birth weight within the first week or if she isn't having enough wet and dirty diapers, talk to your lactation consultant and pediatrician about your options to make sure baby is getting enough to eat.

8. His/Her genitals are so swollen

I always get a little laugh when the Dad gets his first glance at his son's undercarriage and can't help himself when he says “His balls are huge!”. Oh man, it really makes my day. Men get so excited about these things, don't they?

Well, before hubby jumps up to take credit for those big boys, remember that they aren't going to stay that way.

Mom is having some major hormone surges during pregnancy and labor. Those hormones are being passed along to baby, regardless of if it's a boy or girl. Exposure to these hormones can cause testicles in boys and labia in girls to be temporarily enlarged. Don't worry though, the swelling will go down in a few days.

When to be concerned:

If the swelling doesn't go down by your newborn's first appointment with her pediatrician (within the first week of life), make sure they take a look at it, especially if your baby is a boy.

9. Her skin looks bruised

The presence of large blue/grey or purple blotches on the lower back, buttocks, or truly anywhere on the baby's body can look like bruises to new parents. Although they look concerning and you may have questions about whether or not they are causing her discomfort, they are actually just an abnormal collection of pigment in these areas of the skin. They are completely harmless, require no treatment, and will disappear as your baby grows. This usually happens by the time your baby turns two.

When to be concerned:

Sometimes your baby is actually born with bruises on her face. This usually happens if the baby's position was less than ideal or the second stage of labor was exceptionally long.

10. She's spitting up

Minutes have passed since you gave birth to your new bundle of joy and her mouth and lungs seem very wet. You're concerned that she's choking on fluid, but don't worry too much. Although the immediate care of newborns includes some mild suctioning of the baby's nose and mouth, there are two possible reasons for this seemingly excessive spit-up.

First, the baby is using her lungs for the first time. She's spitting all of that fluid out of her lungs little by little until her lungs are clear. Remember, she's been submerged in water for nine months! What helps her the most at this time is to do skin to skin with Mama. If you feel that the mucous is excessive, you can also use a bulb syringe that the hospital provides you with. This will help you get all of that extra mucous out of her mouth and nose.

Second, in the first few hours and days after birth, you might notice that your newborn is spitting up more than what you think she's even getting from your feedings (or before she's even began to feed). This is because her spit-up is not necessarily related to her feedings at all. In the womb, your baby swallows amniotic fluid and she's now trying to expel all of that fluid and mucus in order to prepare her stomach for digesting milk.

When to be concerned:

Keep in mind that spit up is normal and expected in babies as their systems grow and develop. Babies might continue to spit up here and there until their first birthday.

• Related Read: Life With Infant Reflux: What Your Reflux Baby Is Trying To Tell You

BUT, If over the next few days and weeks your baby continues to have a significant amount of spit up, has gas or abdominal pain, and seems to be in constant discomfort, talk to your pediatrician to have your baby evaluated for Infant Acid Reflux. Take some of my advice on the subject because I went through the same thing and it can be very tough!

Immediate Care Of Newborns: I hope this helps!

Being a new parent can be overwhelming. You might feel like you need to know everything and you should be prepared for every little thing that might happen. That's not the case, babe. You'll learn so, so, so much as you both grow together. You will catch on quicker than you think. In the mean time, I'm happy to help.

Are there other things do you wish you knew about the immediate care of newborns before you delivered? Let me know in the comments!

What to read next:

• Life With Infant Reflux: What Your Reflux Baby Is Trying To Tell You
• Breastfeeding 101: How To Feed Your Newborn
• Expect The Unexpected: Preparing Moms For The Newborn Stage
• The Ultimate Infant Acid Reflux Solutions That Actually Work

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave