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What To Expect At The Hospital: Infant Health Care
If you are an expectant mother, you may be worried about countless things. You may be concerned with labor and delivery and have a whole birth plan printed out. It's possible that you have thought about every possibility from a vaginal delivery to an assisted delivery to a c-section. But have you taken time to think about the infant health care that your new child will receive after he or she is born? Here is some information on what to expect concerning the infant health care that your baby will receive.
During Labor And Delivery
Even during labor, your baby will be receiving some form of infant health care. For most normal labors and deliveries, the baby's heart beat is monitored intermittently. If you have a high risk situation, you may have to have a baby heart beat monitor on for the entire labor and delivery. This is to make sure that your baby is handling the labor well.
During delivery, your baby will also receive some health care. When the head is out, the doctor or midwife will suction out his or her nose, mouth, and ears to clean out any fluids. If there was meconium in your amniotic fluids, there will be a pediatrician standing by to immediately initiate infant health care to make sure that the baby did not breathe in any of the meconium.
At The Hospital
At the hospital, your baby will receive some basic infant health care. Your baby will be given a hepatitis B vaccine, a shot of vitamin K to help with clotting, and silver nitrate drops for the eyes to prevent blindness caused by any number of bacteria found in the vagina or in the hospital. You can, of course, decline any one or all of these medical interventions. However, you will most likely have to sign some sort of waiver or paperwork. In addition, hospitals are so used to administering these infant health care procedures that they often times fight tooth and nail when a parent wishes to decline them.
Infant Health Care At Home
When you take your newborn baby home, you will be responsible for his or her basic infant health care. You may need some basic baby health care products to keep at home. Infant pain reliever, an aspirator, bath soap, and lotion are all important health care products for your infant that will keep him or her healthy and clean. Remember, maintaining your infant's health is one of the most important things you can do for your baby.
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