Important points for the care of your Newborn baby:

Important points for the care of your Newborn baby:

• Aim for direct skin-to-skin contact with your baby soon after birth. The first yellowish breast milk (colostrum), though produced in small about, is enough to meet the needs of your baby.

• A crying baby may need body contact. Pick her up; don’t worry about spoiling her.

• Bathe a newborn with plain lukewarm water for the first 7 to 10 days of life. Soap and oil may be used later. There is no need to buy medicated soaps and expensive baby soaps and oils. In fact, some babies may develop skin rash with their use. Any non-scented bath soap and a locally preferred oil like till (sesame) oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil or mustard oil is adequate. There is no need to go in for almond or olive oil. Talcum powder, including special baby powder, irritates a baby’s nostrils and can cause severe lung disease. At times, it gets caked in the skin folds. Avoid using all types of powders. If you fee you must use it, restricts its application to the nappy area or where the skin tends to chafe, never buy prickly heat powders; they are often medicated and unsafe for babies. Some children get skin rashes with gram flour or Milk cream. In general, we do not recommend their application.

• Do not try to push the foreskin of a male child’s penis to separate it from the soft front portion. It is meant to protect the delicate part of the penis.

• Do not put oil into the ears and nostrils of the newborn. Oil, if aspirated into the lungs, can be dangerous. The baby’s nose may sometimes be obstructed by thick secretions. These should be moistened with cotton soaked in water and then removed gently with a clean cloth. Do not clean the tongue and mouth of a baby. Avoid pacifiers (dummies); besides interfering with proper feeding habits, pacifiers increase the risk of infections (including middle ear infections) and malocclusion of the teeth.

• Never use ear buds or cotton buds for the baby. After a bath, use a corner of the towel to clean the external ear. The wax normally found in the ear canal protects it. Do not try to remove it. Also, do not blow into the baby’s ears after a bath.