The Newborn: What is Normal?
The birth of a baby is synonymous with joy but also nervous at the thought if we can properly address. This is why we must know what is normal and what is not in a newborn, to come quickly to our paediatrician, if necessary, and not to go emergency when it arises.
In here we present what is normal in a newborn, which usually far from the image that we have made watching movie.
Colour: The normal colour of a newborn varies from pink to purple. Often the baby has a physiological jaundice (yellowing of skin and mucous) from the second day of life due to their immaturity to convert haemoglobin to bilirubin and eliminate it. Generally, this yellow tapers in the following days.
Skin: The skin usually looks red because they have unstable circulation of newborns. They can have hands, feet and lips, especially when in a cold environment. Often presented scratches and bruises on various parts of the body and head deformities due to injuries sustained at birth.
Abdomen: Generally, the abdomen is swollen and rounded, there may be an umbilical hernia (a segment of intestine gets under the skin through a small opening in the muscular wall) that will heal itself, about the year.
Breathing Pattern: It is normal for newborns to present an unstable breathing pattern, meaning that their breath and how often they change, may even have short periods of apnoea, which is due to adaptation to extra uterine respiration .
Given these characteristics of newborns and observing their behaviour can be calm and wait quietly on the control with the paediatrician.