Everything You Should Know About Newborns: Tips & Precautions

Team AckoFeb 8, 2024

Holding your little newborn in your hands for the first time is a beautiful and an alluring experience. But, bringing your baby home, away from the doctors can be daunting. If you are a new mom, you will have a thousand things running in your mind to worry about. Having a baby can be overwhelming. One thing that you will be most afraid of is the absence of doctors and nurses around you. 

There are few issues that you will have to worry about like indigestion, colic, gas, etc that might cause your infant discomfort. As a mother, you often go into a panic mode even if your little one just sneezes twice. But, you have to keep in mind that it is only natural for your baby to have some discomfort or illness at the beginning of her life. The life outside the womb is very different and she needs time to adjust. Yes, there are a few issues you need to fret about but there are some things not to worry about in newborns at all.

Things you should know about newborn babies:

Some signs you shouldn't panic about in your newborn

Touching the soft spots on baby's head

Despite cautions to the contrary, you shouldn’t be stressed if you happen to have touched these areas of your baby’s head. When you touch your baby's soft spots, known as the fontanels, you're not touching his brain. So what are you touching? A very thick protective membrane. The soft spots exist so your baby can safely negotiate the narrow birth canal. Since his skull is flexible, your little one's downy head has already survived a pretty rough ride with no harm done.

Seeing baby's pulse in his fontanels

What you're seeing is the normal workings of your baby's circulatory system. Because the fontanels cover areas of the skull that have not yet fused together, they're soft, making veins and arteries visible.

Blood in a nappy

This only happens in girls. During pregnancy, a surge in maternal oestrogen levels can stimulate a female foetus’s uterus. Within the first week of life, it's not uncommon for baby girls to have a mini period in which the uterus sheds a little blood.

A small hollow in baby's chest

This isn't a heart problem. You don’t need to panic at the sight of this. According to experts, the breastbone is made up of three parts. The indentation you see is likely the bottom piece, angling backward. As your baby grows, her chest and belly muscles will pull it straight. Even before then, layers of baby fat will cover up this very normal bit of newborn anatomy.

Soft, squishy poops after every feed

Breastfed babies may poop after each feeding because breast milk is so quickly digested. (Formula-fed babies may have less-frequent bowel movements). As far as the squishy issue is concerned, most newborn poops are soft simply because babies are on an all-liquid diet.

Constant hiccups

Experts aren't sure why young babies hiccup so much; some say it's due to a miscommunication between the brain and the diaphragm, the abdominal muscle that controls breathing. Regardless of their cause, hiccups are a harmless part of babyhood.

Crying

Newborns have an immature nervous system and startle easily, which are just two reasons why they shed so many tears. And crying is your baby's only way of communicating his needs. Simply put, he's wired to cry a lot, so though he may look pained, he's not harming himself.

A pimply facial rash

While every rash should be closely monitored, newborns often experience an acne rash. Thanks to maternal hormones still circulating in their body, many newborns have acne, which usually occurs between 2 weeks and 2 months of age. It's harmless and just requires gentle cleaning, not Clearasil.

Swollen breasts on a newborn girl or boy

Those same hormones that cause baby girls to have a mini period can also swell the breasts of babies of both genders. Surprising? Yes. Temporary? Absolutely. Worrisome? Not at all.

Sneezing all the time

Rather than having a cold, your baby is likely to be congested from being in the uterus for so long. Babies have tiny noses! Just a small bit of mucus will make them sneeze. And because your newborn has just emerged from his watery home in your uterus, he's likely to have at least a little congestion, which may cause quite a few sneezes. Unless his sneezing is accompanied by thick, yellow mucus, which indicates a cold, all that sneezing is just a phase he'll outgrow.

Baby spitting up everything

Whatever goes down your baby is likely to come back up again, particularly fluid.

Pooing too much/little

A breastfed baby is likely to poo after nearly every meal, while a bottle fed infant usually just goes once a day.

Strange coloured poo

Don’t worry if you notice your baby has a strange coloured poo. Newborn poo is a greenish black before turning yellow for a few months. Breastfed babies can experience green poop. 

They'll catch something 

Your baby is born with protective antibodies which last for a few weeks so they are ok to be taken outside, although care should always be given.

Losing weight 

A baby loses a percentage of their weight in the first few weeks and is never really a cause for concern, and your midwife or GP will keep an eye on them. Now you know the things not to worry about in a newborn. Yes, it is always advisable to be cautious about your little angel but do not worry about things you don’t need to. If you think you are observing a symptom of disease in your newborn, do not panic or worry. Just rush her to your doctor. Otherwise, handle any discomfort of your baby calmly and have knowledge about the things not worry about in your newborn.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, based on industry experience and secondary sources. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert for health or insurance-related decisions. Content is subject to change, refer to current policy wordings for specific ACKO details.