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Most textbooks tell us that infants must breathe through their noses. Therefore, doctors and parents pay a lot of attention to clearing the nostrils of excess mucus and debris. Seldom does mucus completely block the nostrils, however, and it's been found that infants adapt quickly to mouth breathing, so parents need not worry too much about clearing the nose.
Babies also have protective reflexes that enable them to turn away from potentially suffocating situations. In putting infants down to sleep, it is important to lay them on their sides or backs, and not on a soft pillow, to reduce the risk of suffocation or SIDS
Also, newborns sneeze a lot. This is not an indication of a respiratory infection or an allergy; it is just a normal reflex. Often parents will notice little white spots on the roof of an infant's mouth, directly in the midline. These are known as Epstein's pearls and are normal in newborns.
Years ago, many parents worried about their infants being tongue-tied. Literally, this means that the frenulum, the piece of tissue in the bottom of the tongue that that attaches to the floor of the mouth is short. A short frenulum will not interfere with the child's speech.
However, it will interfere with the child's ability to stick his or her tongue out as far as other children can, with the ability to catch M&Ms thrown in the air, and occasionally with the ability to lick an ice cream cone quickly down to nothing.
The inability to perform these acts can be troublesome to a child, so your pediatrician can cut the frenulum if you wish. This is a simple procedure but it should not be carried out until the child is much older and actually experiences some disabilities.
The newborn's face is subjected to a considerable amount of pressure as it comes through the birth canal. This pressure may rupture very tiny blood vessels and cause a purple rash known as petechiae. This rash will generally resolve within 2 weeks
In addition, infants often develop white dots with red bases all over their faces. This is known as newborn acne. If your child has a widespread rash, your doctor may tell you that he or she has erythema toxicum neonatorum. Again, this is a harmless rash of the newborn period.
Infants ordinarily keep their fists clenched. You may notice that your baby has long fingernails. An infant's fingernails are generally soft but can scratch his or her soft skin. If the fingernails look long or scratch marks seem to be appearing on the infant or on you when you hold your baby close, you may cut the nails. Almost any nail-clipping instrument will do as long as you are careful.
The umbilical cord is of frequent concern to parents. This cord consists of a gelatinous white material through which run 2 arteries and 1 vein. The cord will dry up in about one week. During that process there is usually a smell caused by bacteria on the cord.
A little alcohol applied to it will destroy the bacteria and hasten the drying process. In 1 to 3 weeks, the cord will get smaller develop a brownish color, and fall off, often with a slight amount of bleeding. If an area of redness develops on the skin surrounding the cord, consult your doctor.
Swelling or hernias of the navel are very common in African American babies, far less common in white babies. Almost all of these hernias disappear by themselves
An infant's feet assume many unusual positions. It's easy to understand why if you think of the cramped quarters in which they has recently been living. Most babies have feet that are turned in, with the soles facing each other. They will assume a more normal position within a few months.
Parents can check the normality of the feet by wiggling them about. It should be possible to wiggle an infant's foot into all the positions that your own foot can assume.
Labels: About Nursary, Newborn
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