The first days in the maternity hospital or advice to a young mother on how to properly care for her child

It is generally accepted that a good mother walks with her child in a stroller in any weather every day, and preferably twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. However, recent data on the physiology of newborn children refute this well-established rule: a baby does not need walks during the first 40 days of life. Moreover, if you walk with a newborn on the street, this can negatively affect the baby’s well-being and behavior. Why? Anna Fedaka reports.

“When can you walk with a newborn after the maternity hospital?”, “How long can you walk with a newborn in the fall? And in winter? The forums are full of questions from moms who are enthusiastic to do everything right and go for the first (and then second, third) walk with their newborn. It is believed that this is an important contribution to the child’s health, an important routine moment that is more important than any household or mother’s chores, more important than rest.

You need to go outside with your newborn as soon as possible after returning from the maternity hospital, walk and sleep in the air as long as possible - it’s better to spend the entire first year of life outside. And so my mother, convinced of the absolute benefits of walking, spends most of the day walking kilometers with a stroller in the nearest park. She doesn’t have enough time to do household chores, relax on her own, sleep with the child, or do something for herself - after all, she needs to go for a walk.

The purpose of walking with a child in the first months of life is fresh air, we are not talking about impressions yet, the baby walks while sleeping. Where does this desire to make a child sleep on the street come from at all costs? This belief is largely based on research by physiologists that the brain needs oxygen. And then the simple logical chain completes itself: oxygen is on the street, which means you need to walk as much as possible.

In addition, a child sleeps longer and deeper outside - and from this the mother concludes that sleeping in the air is beneficial. But precisely this kind of dream is the main disadvantage of walking with a newborn in the fall, winter, spring - in the cold and cool seasons. This is not a natural sleep for a baby - it is a reaction of the body in response to stress. This is such a paradox.

Why is it harmful to walk with a newborn?

What is stress?

1. A newborn is not able, like an adult, to maintain body temperature on his own, especially during sleep; his thermoregulation system is imperfect. Therefore, the child has to be dressed in numerous layers of clothing, and even then he spends too much energy maintaining his temperature. Deep sleep outside allows the child to save energy - this is the first reason to immerse himself in it when the ambient temperature is low.
2. When walking in a stroller, the child is not close to his mother, he does not feel her warmth or smell. This is contrary to the needs and expectations of the newborn. The street environment frightens the baby; a large number of visual, vestibular, and tactile stimuli overload the nervous system. This is another incentive to “switch off” and fall asleep deeply.
3. There is too much oxygen outside for a baby in the first months of life, and this also leads to deep sleep. Remember how you sleep in a country house in the forest after a working week.

Here are at least three reasons that force a child to fall into a sound sleep. But physiologically, a newborn and a child in the first months of life should be in deep sleep only 20% of the time. As a result of sleeping on the street, the rhythms become confused, and superficial sleep disappears. This is precisely what is harmful for the development of the child’s brain - because it occurs in this phase of paradoxical sleep.

The baby can also skip feeding, because outside he can sleep for 3 or 4 hours. If this situation repeats regularly, and the mother goes for walks every day in any weather, then the baby does not receive enough breast milk. Up to three months, daily 3-4 hour gaps between feedings can lead to decreased milk production and insufficient weight gain by the baby. And if the child wakes up, it is almost impossible for a mother to organize proper feeding on the street, especially in the cold season, so she will either intensively rock the baby in a stroller or offer him a pacifier.

Observations of a large number of children show that those babies who did not walk in the first months of life are no different from their peers who slept outside. And even vice versa: as a result of gentler and more proper care, they are mentally and physically healthier.

Skin and mucous membranes

It is extremely important to be able to properly care for the baby’s skin and mucous membranes. After all, his skin is extremely delicate and urgently needs careful handling and special care.

As a rule, the nurse does everything necessary in the first days (in the hospital). But all this will be done by mom later, at home. Mommy's job is to learn and acquire new skills.

Nose, ears, eyes...

Every morning you need to wash the baby, take care of the ears, nose, eyes and folds, in this way:

• you need to moisten a cotton swab in warm water, wipe your face with it, then dry it, blotting it with a napkin;
• With another similar swab, you need to gently wipe the eyes - from the outer corner to the inner, for each eye - a separate swab;
• the shells of the ears should be wiped with slightly damp cotton balls - but you should not go into the ear canal;
• for the nose you need to twist flagella from banal cotton wool (approximate length 3 cm, thickness approximately 3 mm), and clean each nostril separately;
• The folds need to be lubricated with cream for these purposes or with oil.

Washing

Previously, pediatricians believed that girls and boys should be treated differently. But now the recommendations sound like this: wash everyone, like girls before - from front to back.

This is important to minimize the risk of infection in their tiny genitals.

What to do to wash? Here are the steps step by step:

1. Open the tap and set the temperature to 36-37 degrees.
2. Take the boy (or girl) and place it on your forearm (left hand), tummy up, so that the head is in the elbow.
3. Hold the child’s thigh with your hand and use your right hand.
4. Use baby soap once a day, and just wash with warm water.
5. After the procedure, gently pat your skin dry with a soft towel.
6. If washing is not possible, use special baby wipes, cleaning the genitals from front to back.
7. If the skin suddenly turns red and inflamed, lubricate it with a thin layer of diaper cream.

It is also important to let the skin breathe from the first days, so leave the baby without a diaper for 2-3 minutes. And only then put him in diapers.

What to do if you don't go for a walk?

For a baby in the first month of life, oxygen is sufficient in a frequently ventilated apartment. If you are concerned about humidifying and purifying the air, then the air in the room can be even cleaner than on the city streets. In the cold season - if the child was born in autumn, winter or spring - it is advisable to spend all 40 days of the adaptation period, or newborn period, at home; in the warm season - about 20 days.

Such seclusion will have a beneficial effect on the adaptation of not only the baby, but also the mother. After all, she is also undergoing intensive processes of adaptation to a new role and recovery after childbirth. The mother gets hot and cold, the amount of some hormones decreases and the amount of others increases, the musculoskeletal system returns to its pre-pregnancy state, and the breastfeeding process improves.

Mother and child are very vulnerable at this time; they are sensitive to temperatures, impressions, and stress. In addition, going outside with a newborn is also difficult from an organizational point of view: the baby is often latched to the breast and requires almost constant holding, it is difficult to dress and undress.

So, why is it not recommended to walk with a newborn baby (up to 40 days):

1. Adaptation of mother and baby after childbirth: the need for constant contact with each other, the need for complete mental and emotional peace, the absence of unnecessary stimuli and stress.
2. Establishing breastfeeding, the baby can be attached to the breast very often and for a long time.
3. Undesirability of deep street sleep.
4. Air movement during sleep and low temperatures are undesirable - since the breathing processes are still in the stage of development and adaptation.

After childbirth - from the first hours to the first weeks

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One of the most common illusions of the expectant mother is that immediately after giving birth, the pregnancy, which lasted 9 months, will completely end, and the female body will immediately return to its original state. What will return is certain, but what happens immediately after childbirth is a delusion that needs detailed analysis and “exposure.” The fact is that after the child is born and grows up every day, the countdown of time will begin for his mother - a gradual return to the “pre-pregnancy” state
, through overcoming unpleasant sensations for which one must be prepared. Armed with knowledge, it will be much easier to overcome this difficult period.

The postpartum period begins from the moment of birth of the placenta and continues until the end of involution (reverse development, i.e. restoration) of all organs and systems that have undergone changes in connection with pregnancy and childbirth.

So, let's see how events develop - from the first hours to the first weeks.

The first 2 hours after birth (before transfer to the postpartum ward)

In the first few hours after the end of labor, the woman remains under the supervision of medical personnel in the delivery room, since during this time various complications are possible, such as bleeding, increased body temperature, and changes in blood pressure.

In any case, the initial stage of recovery after childbirth is associated with the following manipulations.

First of all, they conduct a study of the condition of the uterus: immediately after childbirth, the uterus should be dense. If she is relaxed, the midwife does an external massage

, the purpose of which is to remove blood clots accumulated in the uterus and restore the contractility of the uterine muscles. Massage is performed through the anterior abdominal wall.

Immediately after birth, an ice pack is applied

. This is done to actively contract small blood vessels and stop bleeding. Keep the ice for no more than 20 minutes.

Empty your bladder

needed as soon as possible after childbirth. This is done to prevent urological infections, impaired muscle tone of the bladder due to excessive stretching and bleeding due to the fact that the enlarged bladder interferes with normal contractions of the uterus after childbirth. To do this, immediately after giving birth, a woman is given a catheter.

Bed rest

It is customary to observe in maternity hospitals during the first 6-8 hours after birth. You should not get up and walk before this time, even if you seem to be feeling well. Firstly, the female body has suffered a heavy load and needs rest, and secondly, during this period dizziness and even fainting are often observed, associated with a sharp drop in blood pressure, which can lead to a fall and serious injury. In the maternity hospital, you may not even be allowed to go to the toilet - instead you will have to use a bedpan. And if you are still allowed to go to the toilet, then you should not go there alone.

C-section

- a special case. During the first 24 hours after surgery, the young mother is in a special postpartum ward (or intensive care ward) under constant supervision: her blood loss is corrected, antibacterial therapy is started to prevent postoperative infectious complications, and intestinal function is stimulated.

The main symptoms that appear in the first few hours after birth

• Chills, hunger and thirst.
• A slight fever immediately after giving birth - possibly due to dehydration.
• Extreme fatigue, especially if labor was long or difficult.
• Pain at the stitch site and then numbness in the area if you had a C-section (especially if it was your first) or after an episiotomy.

The first days after childbirth (postpartum ward)

Most often, the first look in the mirror is not pleasing - after giving birth, a young mother often looks as if she had been in a fight - red eyes, numerous brown dots on her face, similar to moles. Pushing during the difficult second stage of labor can cause blood vessels in and around the eyes to rupture.

, which causes the eyes to become red and may even cause bruising around them. This is most likely if a woman holds her breath and at the peak of the effort her pressure in the vessels of her head rises sharply. What to do with such “beauty”?

Cold compresses on the eyes (10 minutes each), applied several times a day, will have a calming effect and speed up recovery, which will occur in a maximum of 6-10 days. In about a week, the hemorrhages on the face will also disappear.

Naturally, lochia

- discharge of residual blood, mucus and tissue from the uterus. In the first three days after birth, they are usually as heavy (and sometimes more heavy) as during menstruation - their total volume can be about 300 ml. In the first days after birth, the main component of lochia is blood from vessels that have ruptured at the placenta insertion, so the discharge is intensely red. Increased discharge when standing up and other movements is a normal process.

After childbirth, a woman may also experience muscle pain in different parts of the body.

. Which muscles hurt the most depends on which group you strained the most during childbirth: the pain can be concentrated in the chest, back, legs and even shoulders. If the pain is indeed muscular in nature, it should gradually subside over the next few days. To reduce discomfort, you may be advised to heat (in the form of hot baths or heating pads) or prescribed a pain reliever.

Cramping abdominal pain that gets worse during breastfeeding

, are caused by normal postpartum contractions of the uterus, which is busy with important work: it compresses the blood vessels that were torn during the separation of the placenta and returns to the size it had before pregnancy. Postpartum painful contractions are experienced primarily by those women whose uterine muscles have been significantly stretched, which is more typical for repeated births and for the birth of twins. Many mothers giving birth to their first child do not even notice such pain. Painful contractions become especially noticeable during breastfeeding because sucking releases the hormone oxytocin, which stimulates uterine contractions. At first, a painkiller will help; the pain usually goes away within two to seven days. If this does not happen, or if pain medication does not help, tell your doctor.

Perineal pain

and the discomfort associated with it - and this feeling is also normal, because it is unrealistic to expect that a 3-3.5 kg child will pass through the perineum without any consequences. Even if during childbirth you avoided ruptures and did not have an episiotomy (an incision in the perineum), this area was still stretched, compressed, i.e. was injured. The pain will go away in a few days.

In the case of an episiotomy, the pain may increase, especially when laughing, coughing, sneezing, or defecating. Like any wound, the episiotomy site will not heal immediately - it usually takes 7 to 10 days. At this time, the woman is forbidden to sit so that the stitches do not come apart. At the same time, they are allowed to sit on the toilet and sit on a hard chair on the 5th day on the buttock where there is no stitch.

While you are in the maternity hospital, a nurse will regularly check your stitches for inflammation or other signs of infection. However, the occurrence of infection is unlikely if hygiene rules are observed. The following rules of hygiene must be strictly observed: after each visit to the toilet, you must wash your perineum with warm water, without soap. You should take a shower 2 times a day.

In the first time after childbirth, only colostrum is released from the breast - a thick yellowish liquid, and milk appears on the 2-3rd day. During the period of the beginning of lactation, the mammary glands often acquire increased sensitivity, sometimes bursting pain is felt in the chest

, she “turns to stone.” If there is significant breast engorgement, the doctor may recommend limiting the amount of fluid consumed; if there is excess milk and significant engorgement of the mammary glands, pumping may be necessary. To prevent cracked nipples and when they appear, you will need BEPANTEN ointment.

During the first 24 hours after childbirth, many women experience difficulty urinating.

. Some people simply don't have the urge to urinate; others feel the need but cannot empty their bladder. Another person may urinate, but at the same time experiences pain and a burning sensation - these are signs of inflammation of the urethra, which should definitely be reported to the doctor. Despite all the difficulties, it is necessary that the bladder is emptied in the first 6-8 hours after birth. This is done so that the enlarged bladder does not interfere with normal contractions of the uterus after childbirth. As a last resort, if it is not possible to empty the bladder within 4 hours after birth, the woman may be given a catheter. After childbirth, you need, regardless of desire, to urinate at least once every 4 hours. Bladder function returns to normal after 3-7 days.

Causes of problems with stool

There may be several factors, both physical and psychological. Firstly, the abdominal muscles, which are involved in bowel movements, became stretched during childbirth and began to work less efficiently. Secondly, the rectum, like the bladder, also experienced pressure from the advancing fetus and cannot immediately establish normal functioning. It is also relatively empty due to increased activity at the onset of labor, decreased food intake, and possibly decreased appetite early in the postpartum period associated with agitation or fatigue. Most often, an obstacle to postpartum bowel movement is the fear that the stitches will come apart. Establishing bowel function is rarely easy and quick; it will take several days. Include more fiber in your daily diet: bran bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, boiled prunes - and increase your fluid intake. This will soften the stool, but make sure that there are no allergens among the vegetables and fruits: remember that until milk comes in and lactation is established, you should not drink a lot of liquid. Try to move more if your condition allows. And don't worry about your stitches coming apart - they won't. Since before giving birth a woman often undergoes a cleansing enema, in the first 2-3 days, as a rule, there is no stool.

To avoid dizziness

, after childbirth, get out of bed carefully, calmly, do not get up suddenly. This recommendation should be especially heeded by women with low blood pressure, those who lost a lot of fluid during childbirth, and who feel severe weakness. It is better to sleep and lie on your stomach after childbirth: in this position the uterus contracts faster.

After childbirth, the belly does not immediately return to its original shape.

, because its muscles and skin need time to contract, as do the muscles of the uterus. In order to quickly return to its former shape, immediately after childbirth, after the first examination by a doctor, you can use a special postpartum bandage, as well as breathing exercises (traditional gymnastics can only be performed 6-8 weeks after birth). Breathing exercises are breathing with the stomach: inhale to inflate the stomach, while exhaling, deflate it. Repeat 10-20 times, 4-5 times a day.

C-section:

On the first day after surgery, you are only allowed to drink water with lemon juice. But already on the second day, the mother is transferred to the postpartum ward, where she immediately begins to lead an active lifestyle - gets up and walks, feeds her baby.

The main symptoms that may appear on the first day after birth:

• Bloody vaginal discharge.
• Painful contractions of the uterus after childbirth, even a day later.
• Discomfort or pain in the perineum (especially if you have had stitches).
• Discomfort when walking if you have had stitches.
• Muscle pain throughout the body.
• Rupture of capillaries (in the eyes, on the face).
• Difficulty urinating.
• Difficult and uncomfortable bowel movements in the first few days; constipation.

First week after birth

Vaginal discharge continues

: Over the course of 1 to 2 weeks after delivery, the discharge gradually turns watery pink, then brown, and finally yellowish-white. During this period, you should use sanitary pads (not tampons: they can provoke inflammatory diseases of the uterus and appendages). The discharge may stop after two weeks, or may continue until the 6th-8th, and sometimes a small admixture of blood appears in it. If bleeding resumes, you should consult a doctor. If after the first week you experience anything more serious than less spotting, such as heavy or foul-smelling discharge or a fever, you should see a doctor to see if there is a piece of placenta stuck to the wall of your uterus. In this case, hospitalization and, possibly, curettage of the uterus to remove the remains of the placenta will be required. You should also see a doctor if brownish or yellowish lochia continues to be discharged for more than 6 weeks, as it may be the result of an infection, especially if accompanied by fever or pain, or tenderness in the abdominal area.

Seams

Any tissue left over from an episiotomy should be kept dry and clean. Most likely, they will have to be treated after discharge from the hospital, and when taking a shower, make sure that water does not get into the vagina. You can wash the external genitalia and perineum with a decoction of chamomile, calendula, and eucalyptus. The first three months after birth, you will have to get out of bed carefully, first turning on your side, avoiding a sitting position (this will reduce pressure on the perineal muscles), and feed the baby lying on your side or half-sitting; You won't be able to lift weights.

The birth of a child is a very significant event for a woman, not only physically, but also psychologically. Firstly, childbirth itself exhausts the young mother, and secondly, the production of hormones changes during and after childbirth. Therefore, it is natural that at this time a period of mental instability

. The most typical feeling in the first days after childbirth is elation, but in the following days and sometimes weeks, some women become sad, despondent, withdrawn and apathetic; They often suffer from a feeling of guilt that they do not feel much excitement about the birth of the baby. It is worth noting that these are common emotions for the postpartum period associated with the normalization of hormonal levels. Advice - walk more, relax, focusing not on negative, but on positive emotions.

For 7 days after a cesarean section (before removing the sutures), the nurse treats the postoperative suture daily with antiseptic solutions (for example, iodine, brilliant green) and changes the bandage. The skin scar forms approximately on the 7th day after surgery; Already a week after a caesarean section, you can shower completely calmly. Just don’t rub the seam with a washcloth - this can be done in another week. Discharged from the maternity hospital in the absence of any complications on the 7-10th day after surgical delivery. Since pain in the scar area can persist for up to several weeks, it may be difficult for a woman to bend over, so it is easier to sit down by bending her legs at the knee and hip joints. When feeding, it is rational to use positions in which the baby does not lie on his stomach (does not put pressure on the scar area), for example, when the baby lies under the mother’s armpit.

Main symptoms in the first week after birth

• Discomfort and swelling of the mammary glands between the second and fifth days after birth (sometimes later).
• Painful nipples.
• Continuing discharge.
• Excitement or depression.
• Feelings of helplessness and fear when thinking about your role as a mother, about breastfeeding (if you are breastfeeding).

Please note that the time frame for recovery of the body after childbirth is approximately 6-8 weeks. In the first week after giving birth, you may experience all of the physical and emotional effects described above at one time or another, or you may notice only some of them. You may also experience other, less common symptoms. Report any unusual or severe symptoms to your nurse or doctor.

To ensure that your recovery is in full swing after discharge from the maternity hospital, do not forget to consult with the doctors at the maternity hospital

and get the information you need on the following issues: how to treat the perineum, how to behave after surgery (including treatment of the suture if you had a caesarean section), how to do simple exercise after childbirth, how to breastfeed and care for your nipples (if breastfeeding) how to care for a child.

Article provided by the magazine “9 Months”

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When can you walk with your child - and for how long?

After the end of the adaptation period, at 1.5 months you can start going outside, especially if the mother already has a desire to take a walk. A child has many tasks during a walk: mastering a new space, adapting to changing temperatures, air movement, and more oxygen. And only at this age, having successfully completed the tasks of the adaptation period, is he ready to master new ones.

How do you know when your baby is ready for a walk? He “walks” well naked or in his undershirt at home for 30-40 minutes, does not worry and does not freeze. He is interested in his surroundings, examines the objects around him, smiles, and “loses his gaze into himself.”

The duration of a walk with a child from 1.5 to 3 months should not be more than 1.5-2 hours. This time is quite enough to get a portion of oxygen and impressions.

Getting ready in advance

The first thing parents need to take care of is their baby’s own crib. It is convenient if its bottom can be moved to different levels and the front wall can be lowered. There should be a warm and thin blanket or blanket, but a newborn baby does not need a pillow. A changing table is used for care, changing clothes, air baths, and at an older age for massage and gymnastics. Now there are models combined with a chest of drawers. In addition, a bath is needed to bathe the baby, at least during the first month. Already from the second you can bathe in a regular bath, mastering the basics of swimming. In case of insufficient lactation, it is useful to have baby scales, and in the case of supplementary feeding or artificial feeding - a sterilizer, feeding bottles and pacifiers. Recommendations about the need for a breast pump are usually given to the mother in the maternity hospital. But if a mother plans to wean herself from her baby immediately after giving birth, while still breastfeeding, purchasing a breast pump is a must.

“The house where the new family member will live, of course, should be clean, but not sterile. It is important that the child plunges into the microbial world of his family and perceives it as his own,” notes Margarita Borisovna.

Margarita Borisovna Fedotova, neonatologist of the highest category, head of the neonatology department

Possible complications

Since resolution is a severe stress for the body, it is not surprising that complications may arise in the first days in the maternity hospital after childbirth. This is affected by changes in hormonal levels, physical and nervous exhaustion. Some women feel very tired and dizzy, while others feel nervous and restless. But be that as it may, this is a completely normal phenomenon.

Try to remain calm. Limit yourself from external stress and spend more time with your child.

Possible deterioration of health status includes discomfort such as:

• problems with urination;
• pain in the lower abdomen;
• delay in the passage of feces;
• pain in the mammary glands.

If resolution does not cause complications, then pain in the pelvic area indicates normal contraction of the uterus.

In this case, the pain is similar to that that occurs during menstruation. Lying on your stomach in the first weeks will help you quickly get rid of unpleasant feelings. This position of the body stimulates contraction of the uterus and, as a result, the rapid removal of lochia from it. Frequent urination also contributes to this. It's normal if you don't feel the urge to urinate within six hours after giving birth, but if you don't urinate for longer than that, tell your doctor immediately.

Read also: When is the umbilical cord cut during childbirth? Why can't the umbilical cord be cut immediately?

The most common problems include prolonged absence of bowel movements. If the mother had a postpartum enema, but on the first day after resolution the act of defecation does not occur. But if it continues for a long time, tell your doctor. The intestines may have lost their ability to contract, which in turn leads to constipation.

Most ladies make one serious mistake: after permission, they move very little. No matter how tired the young lady is, she needs to get up more often, at least to go to the toilet. The movements promote uterine contractions. But don't overdo it. You should not engage in vigorous physical activity immediately after the birth of your child; it will be enough to simply walk along the corridor or hospital grounds, visit the toilet and undergo cosmetic procedures.

Care

In the first month of life, it is important to create conditions for the baby that are as close as possible to the conditions inside the mother’s womb. Therefore, it is important to carry the baby in your arms more often, slightly darken the room, and maintain a comfortable temperature and air humidity (50-70%). Let's talk about the rules of caring for the baby in more detail.

Skin and mucous membranes

The skin of a newborn is delicate and thin, so it is important to limit it as much as possible from any irritants. The baby needs to be washed regularly with running water, and to prevent diaper rash, take air baths for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day. Wash your child with soap only when heavily soiled. Choose baby soaps and wet wipes with a neutral pH to avoid irritating your skin.

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Do not use cotton swabs to clean your nose and ears, as they can damage the mucous membranes. For these purposes, it is better to take sticks with a sticky layer and carefully pick up the dried snot from the edge. It is better to clean the eyes with a cotton pad moistened with clean water. Movements should be directed from the outer corner to the inner.

Nail cutting

Overgrown nails need to be cut in a timely manner so that the baby does not scratch himself. It is better to do this using special scissors with rounded ends. Such scissors must be of high quality, otherwise it will be difficult to cut your nails with them. Carry out the procedure carefully: carefully grab the child’s finger and slightly pull the pad to free the nail plate from the skin, then trim the protruding part of the nail. Don't cut too deep. To prevent your baby from pulling back his hand during the process, it is better to cut his nails while sleeping or suckling.

Do I need to swaddle?

Previously, it was believed that it was necessary to swaddle a baby for at least another week after the hospital. Today this myth has been dispelled and most pediatricians advise immediately dressing the child in diapers. Firstly, when swaddling, it is more difficult for the baby to breathe. Secondly, it prevents him from taking a comfortable position and hinders his motor activity.

How to bathe properly

To make water procedures easy and quick, prepare in advance the place where you will bring your baby after bathing - this could be a changing table or crib. Lay out a blanket or diaper, put a change of clothes and baby cosmetic oil nearby. Afterwards, you can prepare the bathroom for the procedures:

• Fill the bath with warm water, the optimal temperature is 36-37 degrees;
• place a ladle nearby for rinsing;
• Hang the towel so that you can easily reach it with your baby in your arms. It is better if it is warm when you take the baby out.

Before bathing, make sure that the bathroom is warm enough and there are no drafts. Slowly immerse your baby in the water, starting from the feet. Hold your child so that his head is above the surface of the water. It’s okay if the ears periodically fall into the water, the main thing is not to pour a stream into them. When the procedure is completed, rinse the baby from the ladle and wrap it in a towel. After bathing, you can treat the folds with baby oil.

How to hold and grasp a baby

You should take the baby carefully, creating support for the child’s head, neck, spine and holding the butt. You can hold your baby, for example, in any of the following positions:

• Cradle. The child lies in his arms in a horizontal position, with his stomach slightly turned towards the adult. The neck and head lie on the bend of the elbow, support the lower back and butt with the palm of your hand.
• On the stomach. The child is positioned horizontally, face down, as if half-sided - the back is slightly turned towards the adult. One hand holds the chest and chin, the other is located between the legs and supports the lower abdomen.

The main rule is to always hold the baby’s head, since the neck is still very weak. You can hold him vertically only when he learns to hold his head on his own.

You will learn more about caring for a newborn in our article.

What to wear

On the first day after birth in the maternity hospital, nurses will protect the baby from the cold. Therefore, it is worth taking care of a bag with things in advance, in which you need to put a hat, vest, rompers and diapers. But it doesn’t matter if for some reason you didn’t have time to pack what you needed or simply couldn’t take your bag with you to the hospital. Doctors temporarily swaddle the child in hospital diapers. When it comes to the question of whether it is worth swaddling or immediately putting on normal clothes, doctors are more inclined towards normal clothes.

But if a woman still decides to swaddle the baby first, then she should not tie her arms and legs too tightly. Arms and legs should be able to move freely. If the newborn has a calm character and does not get tangled in his arms and legs, swaddling is not necessary.

Some doctors do not even recommend putting special mittens on the baby, designed to protect them from injury. Any person, even the smallest one, has an innate instinct of self-preservation, which prevents him from harming himself.

Read also: Is an ultrasound performed before childbirth in the maternity hospital - Main reasons

Discharge

Initially, copious discharge with bloody clots is observed. Do not be alarmed, this is a natural process of contraction of the uterus, during which lochia is removed from it. To make sure everything is fine, it is better to consult a specialist. By the time you are discharged, the discharge should have decreased in volume and not contain clots.

Normally, the process stops completely within two months. But if suddenly the secretion has stopped secreting too early or is being secreted for longer than expected, without delay, seek qualified help, since such a symptom may indicate serious disturbances in the functioning of the reproductive system.

Read also Bag for a woman in labor in the maternity hospital - What you need to take for childbirth and after

Part one. Bureaucratic

No matter how much we would like to minimize the role of bureaucracy in life, there is no escape from it. And you will have to deal with the child’s documents. Otherwise it becomes a mess. A person is like that: he eats, sleeps and even cries (I sincerely hope that not too often). But according to the documents, it seems like he doesn’t exist.

So, in order for a new person to become a new citizen of the Russian Federation, at least one of the happy parents will have to break away from their long-awaited child and go deal with the documents. And the sooner the better. We do not recommend neglecting the paperwork or forgetting about this, although not the most pleasant, but necessary task. After all, administrative punishment in the form of fines is provided for violation of the law. And living without documents in modern society is not easy.

When discharged from the maternity hospital, the mother, in addition to the baby, also receives several very important documents:

1. The birth certificate (or rather, the remaining third part of it).
2. Exchange card for a woman in labor (its second and third parts).
3. Certificate of birth of the child.
4. If the birth was not entirely successful and the baby, mother or both were in the hospital at once, then also an extract(s) from the medical history.

With these documents in hand, young parents will have to take a number of important steps. At the same time, it is more convenient to perform them in a certain sequence, which will help you do everything as quickly as possible and without unnecessary running around.