Your Baby's Physical Status Immediately After Birth
Your Baby's Physical Status Immediately After Birth
When you are given your baby to hold for the first time you will probably be surprised by his appearance. Although your baby is undoubtedly a bundle of joy, many mothers mistakenly expect a clean and placid bundle, similar to the ones that appear in baby-food commercials. As you now suddenly discover, however, real life is a little bit different.
Skin: Your baby's skin may be covered in a whitish, greasy substance called vernix, which is a natural barrier cream to keep the skin from becoming waterlogged. In some hospitals, the vernix is removed immediately, but in others it may be left on to give your baby some natural protection against minor skin irritations, flaking, and peeling.
Your baby's skin may be rather blotchy in color; this is because the tiny blood vessels are prominent. African-American children are often light-skinned at birth, but the skin darkens as it begins to produce the natural pigment melanin; it will reach its permanent color by about six months.
Head: Your baby's skull is made up of many large bony plates that have not yet fused. These sliding skull bones enabled him to withstand the pressure from your vaginal walls during labor and to pass through the birth canal without hazard, although his head may have become slightly elongated or misshapen in the process. This is entirely normal and does not affect the brain. There may also be some bruising or swelling, but it will disappear during the first few days or weeks.
The soft spots on the top of your baby's skull where the bones are still not joined are called the fontanels. In a sense, they are the windows into a baby's body. The skull bones will not fuse completely until your baby is about two.
Eyes: Your baby may not be able to open his eyes right away due to puffiness caused by normal pressure on his head during birth. This pressure may also have broken some tiny blood vessels in your baby's eyes, causing small, red semicircular marks in the whites of the eyes. Entirely harmless, they require no treatment and will disappear within a couple of weeks. A yellow discharge around the eyelids is quite common. Although this is not usually a serious condition, it should always be treated by a doctor.
Your baby can see clearly up to a distance of 8-10 inches (20-25 centimeters), but beyond that cannot focus both eyes at the same time; this may cause him to squint or look cross-eyed. Both of these conditions will clear up as his eye muscles develop (usually within a few months). If your baby is still cross-eyed at three months you should consult his doctor. You may find it difficult to get your baby to open his eyes at first, but never try to force them open. One of the easiest ways to get a baby to open his eyes is to hold him above your head.
Most newborn babies' eyes are blue regardless of race. Your baby's eye color is likely to change after birth because it is only then that babies acquire melanin, the body's natural pigment.
Hair: Some babies are born with a full head of hair, while others are completely bald. The color of your baby's hair at birth is not necessarily the permanent color he will acquire later in life. The fine downy hair that many babies have on their heads and bodies at birth is called lanugo, and it falls off soon after birth.
Genitals: Many babies, both male and female, appear to have enlarged genitals shortly after birth, and babies of both genders may have "breasts." This is due to the massive increase in hormone levels that you've experienced just before giving birth, some of which have passed into your baby's bloodstream. With a baby boy this can lead to an enlarged scrotum and enlarged breasts; he may even produce a little milk. This is not abnormal, and the swelling will gradually subside. A baby girl may have a swollen vulva or clitoris and a small "period" shortly after birth.
Umbilicus: The umbilical cord, which is moist and bluish white at birth, is clamped with forceps and then cut with scissors. Only a short length of cord remains, and this dries and becomes almost black within two to four hours. The stump will dry up and fall off about 1-3 weeks after birth, but your baby will not feel any pain as a result of this.