The Arrival of a new born baby
brings joy and happiness to a family.
Newly married couples often look forward with so much excitement for a
day like this in their new home because it is a kind of marital accomplishment
and dignity. Even though this is no
doubt a beautiful experience, it also comes with enormous responsibility and self
sacrificing.
New mothers will naturally seek
help and advice from more experienced ones especially their own mothers and
grandmothers on how to take care of their new born. Basically, most of the answers she gets are
based on traditional beliefs and practices that are now replaced by sound
medical discoveries.
Babies can be born with
different mild symptoms which our grandparents erroneously believed to be bad
omens. Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, a renowned Child and Public Health Physician said “the meanings we give to these early child symptoms
are based on fairy tales and are medically untrue”.
With my own experience, I have
come to realize that these early symptoms always disappear within a short period
of time and the mother eventually understands that what she had worried and
labored to resolve is actually not a sickness.
Below are some of these signs
and what they mean medically:
Jerking
If a baby jerks or startles
when people talk or walk around him, Medical Experts say that this simply means
that the baby is hearing properly. He is
responding to sound and movement.
Hiccups
This is normal for the baby and
it shows that a baby is growing well and happy.
You are however to note if the baby spills a lot of milk when the
hiccups regurgitates and if you notice that the baby is not getting bigger as
he suppose to, then you will think of seeing a doctor.
Soft Spots
This occurs on top of the
baby’s head, God has purposely made this spot soft so that the baby’s head can
easily pass through the birth canal and it is never a sickness. It is nothing to worry about. If you are however not comfortable with it,
keep the baby’s head covered and apply baby oil until it gets strong. This may take up to a year or more.
Rashes
Rashes do appear on the baby’s
skin two or three days after birth.
Medically, it has been established that rashes in new born are reactions
to the skin being exposed to air rather than to the amniotic fluid in the
womb. It may also be as a result of baby
creams and lotions that are being applied.
It requires no special treatment as it disappears within a short period
of time
Breast Bud
Most babies including boys are
born with large breasts which in some cases bring out milk. There has been many suggestions by our old
parents as to how this can be solved including squeezing out the milk, pressing
the breast with hot water and so on.
Medical experts have said that this swelling is as a result of the
mother’s hormones inside the baby and is normal and does not last long. They advised that mothers should not try to
squeeze out the milk as too much pressure on the breast can cause infection.
Others signs will be added in
due course, but if you have learnt one or two things in this post or you want
to share some more signs you have discovered, please use the comment box below
to help new mothers take proper care of their babies.