What does a newborn look like? Observe the newborn: normal and alarming symptoms The appearance of the newborn - Mammary glands.

It is useful for future and young mothers to know about some features of the appearance of newborn children in advance.

If you are a young mother, then imagine a newborn as a plump and smiling creature with cute folds on the arms and legs. Know that life is not like that! Here, a mother takes her first look at a newborn child, and it seems to her that something is wrong with the baby: a big head, a tiny body, crooked legs and arms, skin in spots.

Do not be upset if the newborn baby does not look like the baby in the picture at all. Babies are rarely born pink, plump and smooth. As a rule, newborns have some appearance features that disappear some time after birth. And in order to dispel doubts and fears, you just need to talk about it with the doctor in the hospital.

newborn baby head shape

Often, a mother is frightened at the sight of the non-standard shape of the head of her newborn child - flattened, elongated to the top and, in general, more like an egg than a round head.

• The baby's head is egg-shaped because during childbirth, the bones of his skull adjust to the mother's birth canal. And since this passage is narrow, the head takes on an oblong shape. Literally within a few days, the head of the newborn will become the usual round shape.
• Do you think your baby's head is too big? This can be both an optical illusion and a hereditary trait (if your family has large-headed relatives).
• It happens that mothers get upset when a child is born completely bald, without a single hair on his head. But that doesn't mean it will stay that way. Hair can appear only by 7-8 months of life. However, the first hair usually falls out. And by the year the baby will definitely acquire permanent hair.
• Stroking the head of a newborn baby, the mother gropes for soft depressions covered with thin pulsating membranes. These are fontanelles - places on the bones of the skull that have not yet closed. As a rule, the fontanelles are delayed by the year, but if this happened earlier, then this is the individual feature of the baby's body.

In general, according to the observations of obstetricians and neonatologists, children with a small size of the fontanel are more often born recently. Normally, the fontanel is approximately 1-3 cm, but sometimes less. Many doctors believe that this is caused by a slightly higher dose of vitamins that pregnant women receive during gestation. But even if the fontanel dragged on early, continue to give the child vitamin D.

Well, and, perhaps, the funniest thing that a newborn baby strikes mommy is a snake tongue! The tip of the baby's tongue seems to be slightly forked, because the tongue seems to have grown together with the bottom of the mouth and it is still difficult for it to stretch forward. Do not hesitate: he will definitely do this within the first year of life.

Eyes in newborns

Often, though not always, looking at the baby's eyes, the surprised mother asks herself: why are they so blue, like the surface of the sea? Really, many babies are born with blue eyes but by 6 months, the color of the eyes will change to its own. And then mom will understand exactly who the charming eyes are.

Sometimes it also happens that it is not possible to see the color of the eyes of a newborn at all, because ... he cannot open them. This is due to postpartum edema, if the head “stood” for some time in the birth canal. Don't worry, the swelling will go away on its own.

Sometimes the edema causes an infection of the eyes, but in this case it is always accompanied by mucous or purulent-mucous discharge from the eye. This is treated even in the hospital, and the swelling goes away without consequences.

What else a baby can surprise mommy with is strabismus. Which is not uncommon for newborns. Doctors attribute strabismus to weakness in the abductor muscle of the eye. By six months, this condition goes away on its own.

It also happens that the eyes of a newborn have a bright red color. For example, in the case of a hemorrhage caused by a lack of oxygen during pregnancy or the fact that the child had a difficult birth. The vessels suffer greatly with a lack of oxygen, but then everything passes without a trace.

Head, hair, fontanel, tongue in a newborn

Hypertonicity in a newborn

No matter how much mom tried to say hello to the baby, taking him by the fingers. So far, she is unlikely to succeed because of tightly clenched fists newborn. The pose, when the arms are pressed to the body, and the legs are twisted and tucked up to the stomach, is sublimely called the pose of the Buddha by doctors. All newborns are in this position, which is caused by increased flexor muscle tone in the arms and legs.

Moms should not have worries about this until 3-4 months. Up to this age, increased muscle tone is the norm. By 3 months, the child should begin to unclench and clench his fists, and try to grab the toy with his fingers. If this does not happen, then the problem will have to be solved with the help of a neurologist who will prescribe massage, swimming, and gymnastics.

• Take a closer look at the legs and arms of a newborn, mothers sometimes notice a bluish tint to the feet and fists. This is due to the fact that his blood circulation has not yet improved, and as soon as he moves more energetically, his feet and fists will immediately turn pink.
• Mom worries that the baby's feet are strongly wrapped inward or outward. Both that, and another is explained by weakness of muscles in an ankle joint. Such phenomena are caused by hypoxia (lack of oxygen) during pregnancy. However, you should not worry about this, because such defects are very well corrected with the help of massage.
• Sometimes milk comes out of swollen nipples. It turns out that this is quite normal - both for newborn boys and girls. This is a hormonal crisis in a newborn. It is caused by the mother's hormones getting into the baby's blood. Everything will pass by itself. But in no case should you squeeze milk out of the nipples! It is enough to put dry heat on them. Allocations appear on the 3-5th day of the baby's life, last a week and pass.
• Some young mothers, looking at their newborn boys, do not find their testicles in their natural place. If this happens, then it means that the testicle did not have time to descend into the groin before birth and got stuck in the canal. Up to a year there is no need to be nervous. If the situation has not changed, then the testicles are "brought out" surgically, since they should not be in abdominal cavity. There is also a reverse situation, the baby is born with large swollen testicles. It is caused by swelling of the testicular lining. He is not treated and passes by itself, but the surgeon observes the baby.
• A real panic is sometimes caused by bloody discharge from the vagina in girls, although there is nothing to worry about. This is the same hormonal crisis that causes milk to come out of the nipples, and it also passes.
• And one more "thing" causes bewilderment of mothers - navels. The stump of the umbilical cord turned outward does not look aesthetically pleasing, but this is not for long. After 10 days, it falls off, and the navel takes on a beautiful ornate shape of a sleeping snail.

Fluff on the skin of a newborn

The skin of a newborn baby does not immediately become beautiful: tender, smooth and pink. At first, it can be frustrating. Red spots, fluff, peeling, protruding vessels, birthmarks. Let's figure it out What should be a concern and what shouldn't?

• Sometimes a baby is born with a bright pink skin color, fluff and a very large amount of birth lubricant. All this is caused by the immaturity of the skin of a newborn baby and disappears as it grows.
• Moms should also not worry about the peeling of the skin of the newborn. It turns out that after several baths, the entire old epidermis peels off, and the baby's skin is renewed.
• Red spots with jagged edges should also not cause fear in parents. Sometimes this is a manifestation of an allergy caused by a malnutrition of the mother, and sometimes an allergic reaction to the waste products of microbes that inhabit the sterile skin of the baby. In this case, you just need to give the newborn a good drink, and the allergen will be removed from the body by itself.
• Some babies are born with red vascular webs. These so-called vascular nevi, although not terrible for the baby, do not go away with age, like brown birthmarks. With wine and Mongoloid birthmarks, children also remain for life. Wine birthmarks of red color occur in children of all nationalities. But Mongoloid blue spots, as a rule, appear in children of southern nations or Asians.
• On the 3rd day of life, the skin of newborns acquires an icteric color. If the mother has a negative Rh factor, and the child is positive or the mother has I blood type, and the child has a different one and jaundice appears on the 1st day of life, then additional blood tests are needed.

When will the "defects" in newborns disappear?

Love for a newborn

After giving birth, mommy experiences feelings of great happiness. There is also a physiological reason for this hormonal background. She immediately falls in love with her baby without looking back. If the mother, immediately after birth, did not splash happiness on the baby later, then this is due to different reasons, but just not the kind of newborn.

Often this happens if the newborn child was immediately taken away from the mother. Then this joy passes to the medical staff, the surrounding doctors - how wonderful everyone is around! Sometimes the connection begins to break down even during pregnancy: if the beloved left the mother or she is immersed in some other problems with her head.

In this case, it is desirable that the mother in the postpartum ward be with the newborn child. But if it is completely unpleasant for her to take care of the baby, then for him it is very bad. Because from her hands the child "reads" the attitude towards himself. Then it's better for mom to help someone else. Meanwhile, she herself slowly and gradually entered into this process.

Even if the newborn is not entirely attractive, for mom he is super handsome. In schools for pregnant women, many mothers, watching educational films, are horrified by the appearance of newborns. But as soon as their own baby is born, their point of view changes dramatically. Your child becomes the most charming, despite all the features of newborns.

Mothers are simply not able to critically approach a newborn child. They love him the way he is. However, a few hours after the birth, the mother may have anxiety. Why is the baby's head shape different? Why is his skin peeling? Where are the red spots from? Mom looks at the newborn and worries. But not because he is not handsome, but because she wants to help him. She loves him already!

“He is so pretty, so small, so fragile,” says the mother and seeks support from doctors. And this is understandable: she is already driven by the most powerful love in the world - maternal.

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A newborn is considered a child from the moment of birth to the age of one month. Primiparous mothers who have not been close to babies are often shocked by the appearance of the baby. When the postpartum euphoria passes and the rose-colored glasses fall off, they begin to worry - is everything in order with their child, why does he not at all look like the rosy-cheeked baby dolls that they saw on the playgrounds. Especially lost are those who brought the baby to be fed in the form of a bag, tightly swaddled, with a head of decent size. And when, finally, he is released from the diaper, it seems that the child has only a head and limbs, which he randomly waves. And only a conversation with a pediatrician can calm a mother's heart. Everything is still ahead, and rosy cheeks and bandages on plump arms and legs, which are considered by the people as a sign of health. Let's try to find out what a newborn baby looks like, what appearance is the norm for the newly born.

What is the head of a newborn

Young parents are most alarmed by the imperfect shape of the baby's head. In addition to the fact that the head seems huge against the background of the body, it is also flattened, asymmetrical, with some bumps and pits, which causes genuine excitement. When it becomes clear that this deformation is temporary and caused by passing through the birth canal, everyone relaxes, especially since literally within a few days the head will take on the shape familiar to everyone, most often inherited from one of the family members. You just need to remember that you can’t put the baby in the crib in the same position, it is important to alternate positions - either on the right side, then on the left, then on the back, so that the head does not acquire asymmetry forever.

The head of those children who were born by caesarean section does not undergo changes.

Also, many babies have a slight swelling at the back of the head, which will also resolve soon.

The newly-made parents are also wary of the fontanelles - two areas on the crown and crown, unprotected by the bones of the skull - it seems to them that they are easy to injure. Actually it is not. No need to be afraid to wash the child's head or comb it with a comb, the fontanels are strong enough. On average, they close within the first year of life.

The skull of a newborn may be completely bald, or it may have real hair. The first hair is usually changed. And their original color can be very different from the permanent one.

What does a newborn baby look like: the face of a newborn

The face of the newborn also does not look in the best way in the first days of life. Childbirth could not pass unnoticed. The face is slightly swollen, which increases on the eyelids, especially if the birth was not easy. The chin is slightly depressed, the shape of the nose is vague. Sometimes the cheeks are squeezed and bluish in color.

What does a newborn look like: eyes

Eyes, as already mentioned, with swollen eyelids, bluish or reddish. There may be red spots on the eyeballs due to burst blood vessels, which should not be a concern.

The vast majority of babies are born with blue eyes. True eye color can be seen at about five months.

The eyes of newborns are cloudy, as if covered with a film, their gaze constantly wanders, trying to focus on surrounding objects.

Babies do not have tears in the first weeks.

Features of the skin in a newborn

The skin of the baby in the first days, and even weeks, also does not delight his mother. It has an unhealthy bluish-red color, thin, almost transparent. The first days on the skin there is a lubricant that will disappear on its own. In many babies, fluff can be seen and felt on the skin, which is quite normal and transient.

Blueness of the skin does not mean that the child is cold. Remember that cold extremities for a newborn are considered the norm, and overheating is just as dangerous as hypothermia.

Often on the child's face you can see white pimples, especially near the nose. And this, like reddish spots on the skin, is a normal physiological process that should not be interfered with.

It happens that the skin of the child is too dry, which will also pass.

Many children in the first days of life have physiological jaundice in which the skin acquires a yellowish tint.

What does the belly button of a newborn baby look like?

Currently, the umbilical cord is not tied up, as it was before, but a clamp is placed, leaving a small piece of the umbilical cord, which must dry out before being discharged from the maternity hospital. In some maternity hospitals, the umbilical cord is allowed to fall off on its own, while in others it is cut off.

The sight of the umbilical cord, of course, has a depressing effect on an inexperienced mother. After the removal of the umbilical cord, a bleeding wound opens up to the eye, which gradually becomes covered with a crust and, under favorable circumstances, clears itself.

Until this time, the umbilical cord is treated once a day, with a bleeding wound - more often. Processing continues at home until the navel is completely dry.

Appearance of a newborn: torso

The torso in newborns looks rather comical - a short neck, which is simply not visible and a bulging belly. There may be swollen mammary glands and genitals, this is not scary and does not require specialist advice.

The limbs of a newborn: what the arms and legs of a newborn baby look like

The handles of the crumbs seem very long, the fists are constantly clenched. With his hands, he constantly makes chaotic movements, at which he can scratch his face with overgrown nails, which at this age grow by leaps and bounds. At rest, the fists are pulled up to the face. At the wrists, the skin gathers in folds due to the lack of subcutaneous fat.

The legs, unlike the arms, look short. Their constant half-bent position only reinforces this impression. The feet are bluish, thin, with tiny pursed toes and scanty nails. The thin skin on the feet is collected, as if wrinkled, and it can hang over the heels.

Be that as it may, after a moment of confusion, with a close acquaintance of the mother and child, all the shortcomings and inconsistencies cease to be significant, and for the mother, her desired baby becomes forever the cutest. Moreover, having shown a little patience and care, very soon she will be holding a baby in her arms, one - in - one, as on advertising posters.

The first days of a newborn baby's life: what it looks like, structural features of the body - video

We invite you to watch a video about the first days of a newborn baby's life, which will help you understand the features of its structure and understand what the baby looks like after birth: the size and structure of the head, fontanelles, skin features (fluff, rash, spots) and much more.

What does a newborn look like - photo

We offer you a photo selection of what a newborn looks like immediately after birth.

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The babies that have just been born are very different from the children on the covers and sometimes look a little ugly, but not for everyone. And this can really cause some confusion if you do not know how a just born baby usually looks.

Thin arms and legs, curved at an angle uncharacteristic for a person, swollen eyelids, hiding disproportionately huge slits-eyes, tangled matted hair. The kid turns his head away from the light, squints, chaotically jerks his arms and legs, screams - piercingly and hoarsely - and clearly does not share the enthusiasm of those around him.

Let's describe in more detail the appearance of the baby.

Head

Your palm continues to gently move over the head and in the center of it finds a relatively soft area called the fontanel. Sometimes you can notice and feel the pulsation under this area of ​​the skin. The second soft spot can be found in the center of the head towards the back of the head. These soft areas can be touched, washed. Under them is a strong membrane. A child can be born both hairless and with a whole mop of hair, tangled and disheveled.

On the baby's skull, you may notice a "goose egg" - a soft swelling formed from the accumulation of fluid during childbirth. It was the rupture of small blood vessels. Sometimes the tumor resolves within a few months and may become hard to the touch as it calcifies. The shape of your baby's head changes rapidly.

Eyes

You will see swollen eyelids, slits in the eyes, as the newly born baby covers his eyes, squinting from the bright light. The eyes are usually blue or gray, the look of the newborn wanders, he squints a little. For several days or even weeks, the eyelids may hang over the eyes, the baby sometimes opens not both, but only one eye. Tears rarely appear during the first few weeks, but sometimes there is a sticky film on the eyes that is easy to wipe off. Although your baby's eyes may be closed most of the time, they are wide open and calm at breaks, the baby enjoys making eye contact with other eyes - yours.

Face

Facial features may show signs of strong pressure: swollen bluish eyelids, swollen cheeks with a bluish tint, thin strokes of burst blood vessels, a flattened nose, a depressed chin, some asymmetry. During the first day of life, the child takes off this mask, the swelling gradually subsides, the facial bones fall into place, and facial features change for the better.

Leather

The skin of a newborn is covered with a whitish sticky substance. This is the so-called original lubricant, it protects the skin of the fetus during its intrauterine life from the effects of amniotic fluid and facilitates passage through the birth canal during childbirth. If you run your hand along the back of the child, stroke his cheeks and shoulders, you will feel delicate hairs called lanugo.

The skin of newborns is different kind. In large babies, it may be smooth, well-filled, thick, pink or reddish. In other newborns, especially small ones, the skin is loose, wrinkled. Some have very thin skin, with translucent blood vessels, especially visible on the nose, eyelids, and dorsum of the neck.

The skin of the baby in different parts of the body has a different color, since the blood has not yet decided how to flow. Some areas may be red, others pale pink. Since the hands and feet are the end points of blood delivery, they will be cold and bluish in the first few hours and days. When a child cries, his skin turns red, and translucent blood vessels, especially in the middle of the forehead, stand out even more clearly. In the first 1-2 weeks, the skin may be dry, scaly, with cracks, especially on the palms and feet. No lotions needed.

torso

Most newborns look chubby due to large areas of fat deposits, called fat pads, on the back of the neck, along the sides of the nose, on the bottom of the arms, and on the cheeks. Fat folds along the shoulders do not allow a proper view of the short neck of the newborn. Under the influence of the mother's hormones, the mammary glands may become swollen, and even a few drops of milk may stand out. If you put your hand on your baby's heart, you will find that it beats very fast. In the middle of the round tummy sticks out the end of the cut umbilical cord with a plastic clip on it. The round tummy and toned legs almost cover the groin of the newborn. When the baby lies on the tummy, the legs with the feet tucked inward are pulled up to the body.

Arms and legs

The fists are tightly compressed and drawn to the face when the child lies relaxed; some newborns begin to explore their face with their hands already in the first few hours after birth. They may even scratch their thin skin with their (paper-sheet-thick) nails, which can be long. The skin at the bottom of the handles is usually bluish, wrinkled, with thick folds at the wrists.

Feet. Like the handles, the soles of the feet have a bluish tint, wrinkled. Usually they are turned inward, and the fingers overlap one another. Skin folds may hang over relatively small heels. Tiny nails appear to be ingrown, but they are not.

The legs are pulled up, like those of a frog, and bent at the knees, i.e. maintain the position in which they were in the womb. If you play with the child's arms and legs, you will notice that they, like springs, return to the same position, especially if the child wakes up or is restless, but relax and straighten when he is fast asleep.

Sex organs

The genitals in girls (vulva) and the scrotum in boys are very often swollen - this is due to the excess fluid formed at birth and the increased content of hormones in the mother's blood before childbirth. The vulva returns to normal within 1 week, but the scrotum may remain swollen for weeks or months. The foreskin is usually very tight to the head of the penis.

Dear parents, no matter how your child looks, he is the best and favorite for you!

Most women who are preparing to become mothers for the first time imagine their unborn child as a plump, rosy-cheeked angel. And although after childbirth the baby still seems to them the ideal of beauty and harmony, many in the first days still besiege doctors with disturbing questions.

Doctor, what's wrong with him? Why such a big head? Why does he have Blue eyes? What are birthmarks?

Understanding!

Face

The face of a newborn may look slightly irregular - in some cases even flattened or slightly depressed. This can happen both due to the location of the baby in the uterus during pregnancy, deformation can also appear at the time of contractions and passage through the birth canal.

After a couple of weeks, the shape of the face, as a rule, returns to normal.

Disproportionate physique

Often, parents are worried about arms and legs that are disproportionately short in relation to the body, or vice versa - too large hands and feet. It must be remembered that the embryo at the initial stage is not at all a tiny little man, which then only increases in size for nine months. Formation proceeds in stages, and some stages may be ahead or late - this is not a reason to worry if the child is symmetrically built.

Usually after three to four weeks, the disproportions are aligned.

head shape

Quite often in babies at birth, the head has the shape of a cone. This is due to the shift of the soft bones of the skull during passage through the birth canal. It is completely harmless and smoothes out in a couple of weeks.

Also, the shape of the head can change the birth tumor. Despite the frightening name, this phenomenon has nothing to do with oncology: it is just a small swelling of the soft tissues of the baby's head that occurred during labor and childbirth. gradually it resolves without extraneous intervention.

Such a microtrauma can also occur due to bursting of blood vessels during childbirth - then the bump will even increase in the first week of a newborn's life.

Within two to three months, all swelling gradually disappears.

swollen eyes

The pressure on the baby's head during contractions and childbirth is primarily reflected in the delicate and sensitive eyes - in all newborns they look a little swollen, with reddened whites.

The swelling usually disappears on the third day, and the red streaks on the cornea within three weeks.

Small white vesicles on the sides of the nose

Tiny yellowish-white vesicles, which are often found in newborns on the wings and bridge of the nose, are called milia. Their appearance is due to clogging of the skin pores. In no case should they be squeezed out and pierced!

After a couple of months, the pores of the skin will begin to expand naturally, and the milia will disappear by themselves.

birthmarks

Most of them are completely safe, and represent an individual feature of the child. Some may disappear over time, others will stay with him for life. The most common types of birthmarks are:

• Wine stain. Fairly large flat birthmark. usually purple or red due to the accumulation of blood vessels under the skin. Over time, it may fade a little if it is located on the face or other prominent place - it can be made less bright with the help of medical cosmetology.

• Mongolian spot. birthmarks blue, black, blue-red or blue-black on the lumbar region or buttocks are often found in representatives of the Mongoloid race. It usually disappears on its own by the second year of life, but may be noticeable up to 7 years of age.

• Coffee stain. These are flat birthmarks the color of coffee with milk. May fade over time and become less noticeable on tanned skin.

• Strawberry hemangioma. It is strawberry-colored spots of a clearly defined shape, small in size, soft to the touch and rising above the surface of the skin. Usually they do not need any treatment and disappear by themselves by the age of 5-9 years.

• "Stork Bites". Birthmarks that have pink color and are usually located on the back of the head or near the eyes. They are caused by temporary damage to blood vessels and gradually disappear.

• Moles. Vary from brown to black, may be different in shape. They occur in almost every person and do not need treatment, but only observation and protection from the sun. Sometimes they rise above the surface of the skin and even have a hairline.

Genitals

A few days after the birth, the baby's genitals may be red and even swollen. This is due to hormonal changes that occur with the body of a baby who has left the mother's womb. Girls may even have whitish or bloody discharge from the vagina.

All these changes take place within a week.

Blue eyes

Regardless of the color of the parents' eyes, most children, even those of black races, are born with blue-gray eyes.

Most likely, this color will change during the first months, but it may remain.

Newborn jaundice

Physiological jaundice appears in approximately 2/3 of newborns due to the immaturity of the liver enzyme systems. On the 2-3rd day of life, icteric coloration of the skin, and sometimes the mucous membranes of the eyes, appears. Stool and urine retain their normal color. This condition lasts about 10 days and, if you feel well, does not require treatment. Interestingly, at breastfeeding jaundice may worsen and last longer. However, this in no way implies the abolition of breastfeeding.

In a newly born baby, the skin, as a rule, is bluish in color. This is due to which the child experienced while passing through the birth canal. The cyanosis of the skin of the newborn will pass in a few minutes, when the baby begins to breathe on his own and his blood is saturated with oxygen. The skin of the newborn becomes, as a rule, bright red. This is due to the state of the subcutaneous vessels, which first narrow after childbirth due to a sharp change in temperature, and then expand reflexively. This reddening of the skin persists for the first 2-3 days of life.

If the baby is premature (born before 37 weeks of gestation), the skin may be dark red. This is due to the fact that the subcutaneous vessels in these children are located very close to the surface of the skin due to the fact that the subcutaneous fat layer is very thin. That is why the skin of premature babies easily gathers into folds and forms wrinkles.

The palms and feet of the crumbs may remain cyanotic for some time. This is due to the imperfection of the circulatory system: the parts of the body that are more distant from the center are less well supplied with blood in the absence of active movements. As soon as the child becomes more active, he will move his arms and legs more, the skin of the palms and feet will turn pink.

2. Original lubricant on the skin of a newborn has a bactericidal effect

Another feature of the skin of a newborn baby is a curdled lubricant, consisting of fallen skin epithelial cells, fats. Before birth, she protected the skin from soaking, as the baby was in a liquid environment ( amniotic fluid). During childbirth, this lubricant helps the baby pass through the mother's birth canal. It also has bactericidal properties, preventing the penetration of infection. More lubrication occurs on the back of the body, on the face, ears, in the folds of the skin (axillary, cervical, inguinal, etc.). At the first toilet of a newborn, which is carried out by a midwife already in the delivery room, the original lubricant is removed, as it becomes useless.

3. The head of a newborn usually has an elongated shape.

The head of a newborn baby looks large compared to the body. The head circumference of a newborn is on average 33-35 cm, while the girth of the chest is on average 30-33 cm. This is normal. These two values ​​\u200b\u200bare aligned only by 3 months of the life of the crumbs, and then the girth of the chest gradually becomes larger than the circumference of the head.

7. A newborn has fontanelles on its head.

Stroking the baby on the head, the mother can feel two soft grooves. These are large and small fontanelles of a newborn. Fontanelles are formed at the junction of the bones of the skull. The large fontanel of a newborn has the shape of a rhombus, is located on the top of the head at the junction of the frontal bone with two parietal bones and comes in different sizes (usually about 2x2 cm). By placing your hand on it, you can feel its pulsation. A large fontanel closes by 12 months. Small has a triangular shape, is located in the back of the head and is formed at the junction of the parietal bones with the occipital bone. His larger size is about 0.5 cm. But most often, by the time of birth, the small fontanel is already closed. If it is still there, then in 2-3 months it will completely close.

8. The face of a newborn in the first hours of life may be swollen.

And sometimes, because of the swelling, the baby cannot even open his eyes. This is due to a violation of the outflow of venous blood from the face when squeezed during passage through the birth canal. It's not worth worrying about this. Such edema quickly passes in the first days of life.

Some babies may also have red streaks or spots on their faces. irregular shape- vascular spots of newborns. This is nothing more than bundles of blood vessels translucent through thin skin. Most often they are located in the upper eyelids, between the eyebrows, on the back of the neck and in the ears. Some babies are born with these spots, and for some they appear on the 2nd or 3rd day of life. They usually disappear by the age of three without outside intervention.

9. There may be vellus hair on the body.

In many newborns, on the skin of the body, you can notice the original fluff - lanugo. This fluff covered the entire body of the fetus from about the 7th month of pregnancy. Most of the original cannon disappears before birth, but some of it can be seen after birth, more often under the shoulder blades and on the shoulders. And in premature babies, the cheeks can also be covered with fluff. As a rule, vellus hair disappears by the age of two weeks.

10. The genitals of a newborn seem very large.

The appearance of the genital organs of a newborn can also cause many questions for mothers. At birth, in both boys and girls, the genitals are most often swollen and appear very large. This is due to the presence of placental estrogens in the blood. This is a temporary phenomenon. The swelling usually subsides within one to two weeks of the baby's life.

11. The skin of a newborn may have a yellowish tint.

This is physiological neonatal jaundice. It occurs in many babies, their skin and mucous membranes become yellowish. Jaundice occurs most often on the 3-4th day after birth. It is associated with the breakdown of erythrocytes (red blood cells) that contain fetal hemoglobin (a protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen to body cells) specific to the fetus. One of the breakdown products of red blood cells is bilirubin. The enzyme systems of the liver are still imperfect and do not have time to quickly remove bilirubin, as a result of which it accumulates in the blood, causing a yellow color of the mucous membranes and.

Jaundice disappears within one to two weeks as the bilirubin excretion systems mature and due to the completion of the breakdown of red blood cells with fetal hemoglobin.

With severe jaundice, the baby may be prescribed intravenous infusions of glucose, UV irradiation, choleretic drugs that help remove excess bilirubin from the body. Thus, doctors help the child's body cope with this condition. Ignoring severe jaundice can cause irreparable harm to the child's body due to the pronounced toxic effect of an elevated level of bilirubin on the baby's body. There is a general intoxication of the body, the nervous system especially suffers, in particular the brain, as well as the liver and spleen of the newborn.

12. You can often see "pimples" (milia) in a newborn.

On the 2-3rd day of life, the child may develop a small rash in the form of yellowish blisters filled with a clear liquid. These are the so-called milia, or "millet spots". Their appearance is associated with blockage of the sebaceous glands of the skin. Usually, milia disappear in the first months of life and do not require special treatment.

13. The skin of newborns is very flaky.

On the 3-5th day, peeling of the skin may begin, which is more common in post-term children (born after 42 weeks of pregnancy). Thus, adaptation skin to new environmental conditions. Since this condition is not a pathology and does not require any medical intervention, you should not lubricate the skin of a newborn with a moisturizer: this will only interfere with the natural process. Peeling goes away after 5-7 days on its own.

14. The mammary glands of a newborn swell.

It happens that on the 3-4th day, both in boys and girls, swelling of the mammary glands occurs. Within a week, they can increase in volume. Moreover, they swell symmetrically, there is no redness around, but a white liquid similar to milk may begin to be released from the nipples. The composition of this liquid is similar to the mother's colostrum. Such changes occur due to the circulation in the blood of the newborn mother's sex hormones - estrogens (they are transmitted to the child through the placenta). Soon these hormones will be removed from the body, and within a month the mammary glands will return to normal.

15. After giving birth, the baby will have an umbilical cord remnant.

The navel of a newborn does not immediately take on the form we are used to. After the umbilical cord is tied up during childbirth and then cut off, the umbilical cord remains, which doctors remove in the maternity hospital for 2–3 days. An umbilical wound remains in its place, which heals by about the 20th day of the baby's life. Until that time, it requires careful care and respect. In the hospital, the children's sister will show. For this, hydrogen peroxide and an antiseptic solution are used (“potassium permanganate”, “brilliant green”, chlorophyllipt solution). During processing, you need to carefully remove dried crusts. It is necessary to treat the wound twice a day in the morning and after bathing the crumbs until it is completely healed. Until healing umbilical wound it is recommended to bathe the child in a baby bath, adding a solution of potassium permanganate to the water to a slightly pink color.

You need to constantly monitor the condition of the wound. If you notice reddening of its edges, bad smell or various discharges (usually white or yellow), you should immediately consult a doctor, as these can all be signs of infection.

16. Strabismus in a newborn is a variant of the norm.

Another feature of some babies is strabismus. Eyes can periodically part in different sides or, conversely, to move to the bridge of the nose. This is a completely normal phenomenon due to weakness of the eye muscles. The child cannot fix his gaze on an object for a long time, the eye muscles get tired and stop working normally. For most children, this goes away by 3 months, but for some it lasts up to six months - this is a variant of the norm.