There is a lot of information and childbirth classes available to new moms to prepare for birth but what can you expect with your newborn baby in the hospital after birth?
In this post, you will learn all about the various stages in the hospital including what to expect with your newborn baby in the hospital delivery room, what tests are done on a newborn baby, newborn hospital routine, rules for visiting a newborn and so many more newborn baby tips.
Just like with birth, it is extremely helpful for new moms to have an overall sense for what will occur in the hospital once their baby is born. The doctors and nurses are amazing but you will see a lot of them between postpartum care for you and for your baby.
This post is all about what to expect with your newborn baby in the hospital.
Contents:
- Delivery: Newborn Baby In Hospital Delivery Room
- Post Birth: What Are Babies Tested For In The Hospital?
- During Your Hospital Stay: Newborn Hospital Routine
- Guests: Rules For Visiting A Newborn In Hospital
- Leaving The Hospital: Newborn Baby In Carseat Check
- Newborn Baby Tips
Delivery: Newborn Baby In Hospital Delivery Room
The minutes after birth can vary depending on if you gave birth vaginally or via c section. Let’s take a look at each so you can really see the differences.
Vaginal Birth
Immediately after giving birth, most moms are able to enjoy a few minutes of skin to skin with their new baby, assuming there are no complications or serious concerns with the baby’s health.
After skin to skin, the pediatrician will take the baby to the pram within the hospital delivery room, clean him up and do any immediate assessments/testing that needs to be done.
Following this, the baby is swaddled and returned to the mother for snuggles and breastfeeding (if you choose to go this route).
Typically the initial newborn testing can occur within the delivery room too so you are all able to stay in one place.
C Section Birth
Things can be a little different with c section. To start, the hospital delivery room is really the operating room!
Immediately after birth, the umbilical cord is cut and the baby is moved to the pram in the operating room. The pediatrician will do the same assessments/checks as with a vaginal birth and your parter will be able to cut the remainder of the cord and hold the baby.
Oftentimes, the mother is given the option to hold the baby while she is still lying on the operating table but it is a little different than with a vaginal birth. In my personal experience, I didn’t feel comfortable holding my baby at this time. My arms were a little tingly from the spinal I received and I felt like it would be awkward to hold my son while I was still laying flat on the table.
You are usually able to take pictures with your baby and the baby is able to stay in the hospital delivery room for a few minutes while the surgeon continues to work on closing you up. Shortly after, your partner will go with the baby and pediatrician to the recovery room where the initial testing will be done on your baby.
You will be reunited with your baby after you are closed up and wheeled to the recovery room.
Which is better?
The contrast between the two isn’t meant to mean that one is better than the other. Instead, I am hoping you have a better understanding of what transpires in the hospital delivery room because you will be in one of two scenarios when you give birth.
And sometimes c sections are medically necessary and there is no getting around them so it is helpful to know exactly what to expect.
Post Birth: What Are Babies Tested For In The Hospital?
The main tests that your baby will undergo in the first 24 to 48 hours in the hospital are:
1. Apgar scale
Your baby is rated on the Apgar scale between one and five minutes after birth and is an essential part of assessing the baby’s initial condition. (To be honest, I had no idea it was even happening because it was so quick.)
The baby’s general condition is rated on a scale of 0 to 10 based on observations in five assessment categories such as skin color and heartbeat.
2. Blood Test
This usually occurs shortly after birth and is a small heel prick. This blood test is pretty amazing though because it can look for at least twenty one different kinds of serious genetic, metabolic, hormonal and functional disorders.
3. Congenital Heart Disease Test
This test is easy and painless. It involves a sensor being placed on the baby’s skin to measure his or her pulse and the amount of oxygen in the blood. If the results are unclear, the doctor may order further tests such as an echocardiogram or an ultrasound of the heart to determine if there is something wrong.
4. Hearing test
This test is usually performed during your hospital stay. It is so so important because approximately 3 in every 1,000 babies born in the United States have some level of hearing loss.
Thankfully the test is quick and painless. The nurse will put a little ear bud in the one of the baby’s ears, play a sound and the ear sends back an echo. This is then repeated on the other side. All in all, this test can be done in less than a minute in a sleeping infant, which is pretty incredible.
Newborn babies can fail the hearing test due to temporary conditions or more serious hearing impairments though. It’s also possible that the results of the newborn hearing screening were unclear. Since hearing is a huge part of brain development, the American Academy of Pediatrics considers hearing loss as something that needs to be treated right away.
The next step for babies who fail the initial hearing test is to be retested after they are discharged from the hospital. If the baby doesn’t pass the rescreening then they will typically be referred to a pediatric audiologist for a comprehensive hearing evaluation.
Based on that evaluation and whether or not the baby is diagnosed with hearing loss, the audiologist will make a recommendation on the appropriate hearing devices. The ultimate goal is help with teaching your baby to listen and talk!
Other standard procedures in the hospital include:
- Weigh baby and measure length and head circumference. This typically happens multiple times and it is normal for your baby to leave the hospital weighing slightly less than when he or she was born.
- Count fingers and toes.
- Examine baby’s internal organs (kidney, liver, spleen, etc) by external touch.
- Check the infant’s reflexes, hip rotation and umbilical stump. What’s left of your baby’s umbilical cord will fall off with a week or two after birth but until then it is important to keep it clean and dry and keep an eye out for any sign of infection.
- Record the baby’s first pees and poops. Get used to this because your pediatrician will be very interested in it for the first few weeks. Plus it’s a really good indicator of how your baby is doing!
- Administer a vitamin K injection in the form of an antibiotic eye ointment, which will prevent infection. Most babies are born with low levels fo vitamin K so a shot helps to enhance their ability for blood clotting.
- Give baby his first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.
- Circumcision for male babies. This is not required and is only performed at the parents’ request. It is a very quick procedure but requires additional care for a few weeks afterwards until everything is healed.
During Your Hospital Stay: Newborn Hospital Routine
The length of your hospital stay will vary depending on if you had a vaginal birth or c section and if there were any complications.
You can expect your baby to stay in the room with you (unless you have the option for him to spend a night in the nursery) and there will be nurses in and out at allll times of the day and night. They are constantly checking the baby, performing the necessary tests and communicating with the parents about how the baby is doing.
There really is no “routine” in the hospital. Your baby is just getting a taste at life outside of the womb and it can be scary! One of the biggest things is that no matter how you are feeling post birth, your baby will be looking for food and comfort around the clock. This is the perfect time for your partner to really step it up and assist with diaper changes, feedings (if you’re not breastfeeding) and waiting on you hand and foot.
Once you get home from the hospital, you will start falling into a routine but until then there really isn’t a newborn hospital routine you can expect.
Guests: Rules For Visiting A Newborn In Hospital
When it comes to having visitors in the hospital or once you’re back at home, you will need to decide what you are and aren’t comfortable with. It can sometimes feel uncomfortable to enforce these “rules” but your newborn baby’s immune system is still very weak.
Some common guidelines you can enforce include:
- No visitors that might be sick.
- No unannounced visitors or other guests with visitors.
- It’s ok to keep visits short or cancel if needed.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for food or help.
- The visitors don’t have to hold the baby.
- Wash your hands before any contact with the baby.
- Absolutely no kissing the baby.
- Don’t forget about the other siblings.
- Be a good listener and only offer advice if asked.
Leaving The Hospital: Newborn Baby In Carseat Check
Most hospitals do not allow the baby to be discharged from the hospital until they pass the “car seat check”.
Before leaving your hospital room, you will buckle your tiny little baby into the carseat and make your way to the checkpoint to leave the hospital. This will vary depending on your hospital but typically there is a person waiting to take a look at the baby’s positioning in the carseat. They will confirm the buckle is where it needs to be and straps are secure.
And then you are on your way to quite possibly the scariest ride you will ever take: driving your newborn baby home from the hospital!
Newborn Baby Tips
- Know the newborn phase doesn’t last forever.
- Your baby IS going to cry and that’s normal.
- The fourth trimester of pregnancy is no joke.
- Lower your expectations. And then lower them more…
- Ask for help.
- Take a baby sleep course. My favorite is Taking Cara Babies!
- Use a swaddle.
- Don’t overlook a pacifier.
- Learn your baby’s cues.
- Buy a portable sound machine.
- Teach your newborn day and night.
- Use nightlights throughout your house
- Red light trick
- Sleep when the baby sleeps.
- Stock up on zippered sleepers for the first few weeks.
- Set up multiple changing stations throughout your house.
- Size up in diapers if there are consistent leaks.
- Download the WonderWeeks app.
- Always pack an extra outfit.
- Get out of the house daily.
- Use cloth diapers as burp cloths.
- Purchase a good quality baby monitor.
- Have multiple safe places to put your baby.
- Have a support system.
- Breastfeeding might not work and that’s ok.
- Fed is best.
- Get into a routine slowly.
This post was all about what to expect with your newborn baby in the hospital.