3 Things to Expect in a Newborn Exam

A newborn exam is no cause for alarm, as it is a typical examination that is done immediately after your child is born. Immediately after your child’s birth, the doctor will begin the examination and look for any signs that could be cause for concern. More often than not, there is no cause for concern at all. However, sometimes the doctor may take the child out of your hands or even out of the room, which will obviously cause you to panic.

You should be aware that everything the doctor does from the point of birth and throughout the newborn’s stay at the hospital is on a “better safe than sorry” basis, and therefore should not be an immediate signal for you to worry. The following are some things that might appear out of the ordinary to you.

1. Breathing and Circulatory Tests

One minute after birth, the doctors will check the baby for a variety of circulatory problems such as breathing issues, muscle issues, and heart rate. This type of examination is completely normal and routine. In fact, the doctor will check the baby multiple times at several intervals after one minute, five minutes, and ten minutes.

3 Things to Expect in a Newborn Exam

The doctor may or may not communicate any warning signs to you, as they may end up being benign from one moment to the next; however, further monitoring may be necessary if the doctor deems it so.

2. The Physical Exam

Another routine part of the newborn exam is the physical examination that is done by the doctor. It is an important part of identifying any abnormalities that could indicate a health risk in the future. You may immediately worry when you see the doctor looking the baby over, as it might appear, based on the level of scrutiny, that he sees that you don’t see.

However, unless the doctor indicates any problems to you, the child will be fine. The physical exam could also indicate a problem at one point that later corrects itself as the child begins developing outside of its mother’s body.

3. Developmental Examinations

In the hours following birth, the doctor will begin looking for developmental signs as the child begins to figure out how to move and starts to get accustomed to breathing normally. The first exam is usually done two hours after birth and then as much as a day after that. These examinations look for signs of development and they can be especially helpful if you weren’t sure at what point the pregnancy began.

The examination will observe the baby’s movement, reflexes, and other physical features to determine if the child has developed normally.

The newborn exam can be the most difficult part after the child is born. However, the mother should take note that every procedure that the doctor does, whether it involves a high amount of scrutiny or even taking the baby out of the room, is completely normal. Your child is in professional hands, and you should be more concentrated on your own health while the doctors are taking care of your baby.