Baby’s First Hours
Once your baby is delivered, all the attention will be given to her, not to you, and rightly so. She may cry first when delivered and will be bawling robustly a few seconds after birth. She’ll probably be a bluish-white color at first and may be covered with vernix-a white, cheesy substance that protects her skin in the womb. She’ll have streaks of blood on her and, depending on your delivery, her head may look slightly pointed after her journey down the birth canal.
Her First Moments
If her breathing is normal, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t hold her immediately. If there’s a danger of her being cold, you can be covered with a towel or blanket. Your gentle stroking movements and the sound of your heartbeat and voice will reassure your baby. Her eyes will almost certainly fasten on your face and she may scrabble as if trying to swim toward you.
Cutting the cord The first procedure after the delivery is the clamping of the cord. At the appropriate time, two clamps are applied to the cord, one a short distance from the navel, the other about an inch away. These clamps prevent the cord from bleeding, the one closest to your baby being the most important. At this point, your partner may be invited to cut the cord between the clamps. Some practitioners prefer to wait, however, until the placenta is delivered or the cord has stopped pulsating before cutting the cord. The cord may also be clamped and cut during delivery if it is looped tightly around your baby’s neck.
Her general condition The doctor or labor nurse will check your baby’s general condition. She’ll remove any fluid remaining in your baby’s mouth, nose, or air passages by sucking it out with disposable plastic tubing or a bulb syringe. If your baby doesn’t start to breathe immediately, the doctor will take her and give her oxygen, and the neonatologists will be called to the room.
Welcoming Your Baby
Once the nursing and medical staff have checked that both you and your baby are well, by all means ask them to leave if you want to be left alone in the warmth of your birthing room with your partner and your baby.
If you’ve had an episiotomy, you may have to wait until after you’ve been stitched; your doctor will be able to make a much neater repair if you’re stitched as soon as possible after the birth before the tissues swell. Once this is done, you can relax after your hard work and enjoy this amazing new experience together. It’s a good idea to put your baby to your breast immediately because it stimulates delivery of the placenta, even if your baby isn’t hungry at first.
Spend these first few moments concentrating on your baby, getting to know her, learning to recognize her face and cooing at her so that she can hear the sound of your voice. Ideally, hold her about 8-10 inches (20-25 centimeters) away from your face-at this distance she can make out your face quite clearly. Smile and talk gently in a sing-song voice, because newborn babies are attuned to high vocal pitches.
Let your partner hold his baby for the first time within half an hour of the birth. Men can bond as deeply and as quickly with their newborn children as women do.
After this initial bonding process, you’ll be washed down and asked to pass urine to make sure that everything’s in working order. You can then change, and the nurses will check your baby more thoroughly.
A More Thorough Check
Shortly after birth the doctor or nurse will make some specific checks on your baby. The doctor will check that her facial features and her body proportions are normal. She’ll be turned over to make sure that her back is normal and there are no indications of spina bifida. Her anus is checked, as are her fingers and toes. The number of blood vessels in the umbilical cord is recorded-there are usually two arteries and one vein. Your baby will then be weighed and her head circumference and possibly her body length measured. All this takes only a few seconds in the hands of an experienced doctor or mildwife.
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