The peace of mind of a woman is an important component not only of the successful development of the fetus, but also of full breastfeeding. Once again, she did not need to worry. However, cause for concern among uninformed mothers may occur from the very first days after the birth of the baby. The thing is that at this time there are transitional states of newborns, which cannot be avoided due to the physiological characteristics of the still immature organism.
In this regard, all women need to know what changes occur with their child during the first days after his birth. This will avoid unnecessary panic, and self-education will not hurt once again.
What is this actually about?
In the language of medicine, this is called transient conditions; there are several of them. Their appearance is due to the process of adaptation of the born child to new conditions of existence. And here they are completely different than in the womb: gravity, various stimuli (visual, tactile, acoustic).
Born children need to get used to a new way of breathing (pulmonary), now they will have to get nutrients in a different way (digestion). The procedure for adapting to a new existence affects almost all organs and systems of the body. Such a restructuring cannot be avoided, since this mechanism is laid down by nature itself, it is only necessary to wait a certain period of time to allow a very young organism to get used to the new environment.
Usually, during the first days of life, the transitional states of newborns (otherwise they are also called temporary, transitional, borderline) pass without a trace. At the same time, in no case should you leave them unattended, on the contrary, you need to watch your child and, when negative symptoms appear, you need to seek medical help.
Such states are called borderline not by chance, and the point is not only that they appear on the border of the two most important periods in human life (intrauterine and extrauterine). The fact is that under certain circumstances it is impossible to exclude the possibility of pathological conditions, including the development of a number of diseases. Often this contributes to the birth of premature babies or with a small body mass index, as well as under the influence of other factors.
Apgar Scale
The American anesthetist in obstetrics Virginia Apgar in 1952 developed a scale for assessing the condition of the newborn. The technique was named after its author. For the assessment, 5 main features are used, and the assessment is put depending on their severity. That is, 0 points are assigned in the absence of activity, reflexes, etc., 1 point - the symptoms are poorly expressed, and 2 points are an excellent result.
Signs themselves:
- Heart function - this organ in newborns under normal conditions makes 130-140 beats per minute. Based on this, if the heart rate is more than 100, then a value of 2 points is assigned, otherwise a unit. In the absence of a pulse - 0. On the functionality of the heart is affected by a lack of oxygen during the prenatal period or directly during childbirth.
- Breath of a newborn - a healthy baby in one minute makes from 40 to 45 respiratory movements. This also corresponds to 2 points. Usually, the very first loud scream is heard, which is the norm. A unit is assigned when the scream is more like a moan, and the breath itself is slow and irregular. As you can understand, in the absence of breathing and screaming - 0 points.
- Muscle tone - if the head is brought to the chest, the arms are bent at the elbows, the hands are clenched into fists, the legs are bent at the knees and hips, and the head is slightly thrown back in position on the side, then a high score is set at 2 points. This indicates an increased tone of the flexor muscles. 1 point is assigned in a situation where the legs and arms are slightly bent, and the baby makes movements slowly and rarely. Lack of activity - 0 points.
- Reflexes - the first loud cry, followed by a breath, sucking and swallowing reflexes indicates that everything is in order with the child (2 points). If they are made barely noticeable and uncertainly - 1 point. And if there are none at all - 0 points.
- Skin color - in healthy newborns, a hue from pale to pink. At the same time, pink color is estimated at 2 points, if the arms and legs are bluish, then 1 point is assigned, and with completely pale or cyanotic skin, 0 is given.
Actually, this is how the newborn is evaluated on the Apgar scale, what obstetricians do, while mom comes to her senses, resting after childbirth. The use of this scale is difficult to underestimate; it was developed for medical personnel in order to determine which children need close supervision. That is, if the baby receives 5 points, the need for this is present, but children with indicators of 7-10 points are completely healthy.
Evaluation frequency and effectiveness
To determine the condition of the child, an assessment according to the Apgar scale is carried out three times. For the first time, this is done 60 seconds after the birth of the baby. The second time - after 10-15 minutes. And the last time the condition is assessed 120 minutes after the birth of the child. How exactly this happens and what factors are investigated has been described above. Now we can draw certain conclusions.
If the kids score less than 4 points, urgent intervention by medical personnel is required in order to provide first aid. If it is provided in a timely manner, there will no longer be any danger and health problems can be avoided in the future.
Evaluation of the newborn on the Apgar scale from 4 to 6 points indicates a satisfactory condition of the child. At the same time, there may be a need for resuscitation procedures.
Children who have “scored” from 7 to 10 points are no longer in danger. The need for additional care, as well as any intervention by doctors, is also usually absent. The highest result (10 points) is observed in extremely rare cases.
Individuals
It is worth noting that Apgar grading should not be regarded as a sentence, and certainly this is not a diagnosis. These figures are operated by medical personnel in order to assess the condition of the child at a particular point in time - that is, immediately after his birth. The Apgar scale can in no case be used for further forecasting, it does not serve as a guideline in relation to children's health.
But, despite the widespread use of this method, it is quite subjective. Each kid is distinguished by its individuality, and the child who in the first minutes of life scored the minimum number of points, in a few months of development can overtake comrades with a higher result (8-10 points).
This fact is proved by studies that show a lack of connection between a low Apgar score and the further development of babies. In this regard, parents should not panic when they find a low level of scores, as this is not a final assessment.
Transient states of newborns, or travel to other planets
The process of birth for a child is comparable to traveling to another planet: after suffering overloads and oxygen starvation during a flight, a person finds himself in conditions significantly different from the primary ones. The atmosphere is different, there are gravitational forces, as well as parameters such as temperature, humidity, radiation.
During childbirth, the baby experiences stress after stress. During this period, in a fragile body, various hormones are produced in large quantities, which allows you to get used to the new environment in a short time. And usually it takes the first 7 days, but in some cases it can drag on for 3-4 weeks. And as soon as the child adapts to new conditions of life outside the uterus, he already ceases to be considered a newborn. What exactly changes occur during the first hours of a child’s life or days, weeks? More about this later.
Body weight change
During the first days after birth, all children lose 10% of their weight, which not all parents can guess about. Moreover, this does not depend on its size and the term for which the child was born. This is mainly due to the reaction to stress: in the body, the metabolism is launched in an enhanced mode. A large amount of liquid is actively excreted, and the main source will appear along with breast milk.
Even in the womb, the body makes "reserves", which at this moment begin to be consumed. By the 10th day after birth, the baby fully compensates for the weight, and in relation to premature babies this time increases by 4 days. And as you can understand, there is no cause for concern here.
But, if weight loss is not observed, this indicates a fluid retention in the body. In turn, this indicates a disease of the genitourinary system. With this turnover, constant medical supervision is required.
Newborn's breath
It is also worth saying a few words about the very process of breathing in infants. The frequency in the first hours or days (in rare cases 2 days) is quite high - the baby is able to make more than 60 respiratory movements within a minute. At the same time, inhalation is considered one movement.
This feature is called transient hyperventilation, which allows you to adapt to new conditions. At the same time, a much larger amount of air is passed through the lungs every minute than in the subsequent months and years of the child’s life.
Such a high frequency is due to the need to get rid of accumulations of harmful carbon dioxide as soon as possible. In most children, this process takes several hours, after which the frequency slows down to 40-46 movements per minute. For comparison, adults make no more than 18-19 respiratory movements.
At the same time, such intense breathing is superficial, and metabolism is rapid. In this case, there is a great need for oxygen. Deficiency of the depth of breathing is easily compensated by an increase in its frequency.
But what is the first breath of a newborn? The movements are quite specific: the baby inhales very deeply and exhales slowly, with difficulty. Among doctors, this is called Gasping (from the English word Gasp - "to catch air, to suffocate"). This continues for the first half hour.
With a deep breath, the lungs straighten, but during a slow exhalation they do not subside. At the same time, those parts of the respiratory organs that are freed from fetal fluid during childbirth are filled with air. Then a rapidly rushing new stream straightens the lungs.
Heat exchange
In the womb, the baby developed at a constant temperature (approximately 38 ° C), and there was no need to independently maintain this regimen. After birth, everything changes dramatically: the circulatory system is rebuilt, and thermoregulation mechanisms are started, but due to immaturity, failures occur in their work. Such a transient, borderline state is manifested by an increase in body temperature, and an indicator of 37 ° C is the norm.
Thermoregulation is carried out through sweat glands and blood vessels, which are located closer to the surface of the skin. For infants, the optimum temperature in the room where it is located is considered to be 22 ° C. Sometimes there may be other indicators, so they should be selected depending on the individual characteristics of the child's body.
Hormonal crisis
Maternal hormones continue to exert their influence even after the birth of a baby, which in the medical language is called a hormonal crisis. These may be the following manifestations:
- Mastitis. It occurs in children of both sexes, but more often can be seen in girls. A characteristic sign is the swelling of the mammary glands with the release of a small amount of colostrum. You should not try to squeeze out the liquid, as this will cause pain and significant discomfort to the child. The duration of such a transitional state of newborns is about 2-3 weeks, after which mastitis passes on its own. However, its pathological form may occur, which is accompanied by soreness of the mammary glands, and the body temperature also rises.
- Genital swelling.
- Among newborn girls, there may be discharge that resembles menstruation. Normally, their volume is not more than one teaspoon and they continue, as usual, that is, for 3-5 days.
- Transient vulvovaginitis. Sometimes during the first few weeks in young girls, abundant mucous discharge from the genital tract can be detected. But the condition of the children is satisfactory, there is no inflammation, and they behave calmly.
The crisis of the child’s reproductive system should not cause concern for parents. After a few weeks, the situation will go away on its own.
Change in skin
From the influence of external factors, all internal organs are protected by the skin, which performs many useful functions. And in addition to generating signals for the excretory and nervous systems, during the adaptation of the newborn to extrauterine life, thermoregulation mechanisms are connected, in which the skin takes an active part.
Immediately after the birth of a child, various transient conditions can be observed:
- 6-12 hours after the baby is born, redness of the epidermis can be observed. This phenomenon is also a feature of physiology and is associated with the adaptation of the skin to air. It all goes away on its own within a week.
- 1.5 weeks after giving birth, premature babies can experience severe peeling. In order to improve the general condition of the skin, it is recommended to wipe with almond oil.
- Toxic erythema is small specks the size of a tiny coin in gray or yellow. Often they are localized in the middle of the chest, and they can also be found around the joints or on the limbs themselves. Two days later, there will be no trace of her. The presence of such spots does not affect the health status of the child, but itching may occur. In this regard, the clothes of the child should be selected from a soft material, and it should be free.
- Miles. When a baby is born, it can be found in these sebaceous cysts that are similar in appearance to juvenile acne that has a white head. The reason for their appearance is associated with insufficient development of the sebaceous ducts. But after a while the situation will be corrected, and therefore treatment in this case is not required. But with inflammation of the skin around the miles, the doctor will prescribe special tools to treat the skin.
- "Bruises" - blue spots can also appear in a child after his birth, which looks like bruises. Such a phenomenon in 90% of cases occurs among newborns of an Asian or Native American race. Among fair-haired and blue-eyed babies, such a manifestation is extremely rare.
- "Stork spots." After giving birth, an orange-pink spot may appear on the forehead, eyelids, or nape of the neck. During the first year of life, they brighten, and you can notice them only when the baby is crying.
And if there are digestive problems, a negative imprint also affects the skin.
Jaundice of physiological origin
The yellowness of the skin can be pure physiology of the newborn, which is associated with massive decay of red blood cells. As a result of this process, too much bilirubin is formed. And depending on this, the skin can be from light lemon to orange. Moreover, the baby begins to turn yellow from the head, then the whole body is colored. The degree of yellowness can only be determined in daylight.
Transient jaundice is not an independent disease. This happens for a completely understandable reason: the children's liver has not yet been fully formed to carry out its duties. But after a certain period of time, the body will begin to produce enzymes in the required amount, and the situation returns to normal.
In a healthy newborn, the physiological borderline conditions of jaundice are as follows:
- Appears on the 2nd or 3rd day of the baby’s life, reaches the maximum manifestation by the 4th – 5th day, but by the 2nd – 3rd week the phenomenon disappears without a trace.
- The general condition of the child is satisfactory.
- The level of bilirubin is in the range of 180 μmol / L.
The pathological condition manifests itself in a slightly different way:
- .
- 2-3 .
- – , 180 /.
- The lower legs are also tinged with a yellow tint.
It is urgent to consult a specialist if the child's palms and feet turn yellow, his general condition changes for the worse (lethargy, long sleep, poor stools, swelling, hoarseness).
Such situations should also alert: refusal to eat, even if the baby is hungry, discolored stool. In the case of a pathological condition of jaundice, a mandatory course of treatment is required, and the child should be under medical supervision.
Weak immune system
Newborns in the early days are vulnerable to any infectious pathogens. The skin barrier is not yet fully developed, the mucous membrane is not functioning properly. During the advancement through the birth canal, various microorganisms enter the body, which subsequently form the immunity of the child's body. At this time, there is a risk of getting sick even when in contact with a healthy person. For this reason, until this transitional state of the newborn passes, it is worth limiting the number of people around it.
After the birth of the baby, an umbilical wound remains. Parents should pay special attention to this area, conducting proper hygiene. Otherwise, infection can get through the damaged tissue. In this case, both the wound itself and the surface of the skin around it should be treated. But, if inflammation occurs, you should immediately consult a specialist.
Uric acid
During the first days after the birth of a child, diapers or diapers can reveal yellow or brick-colored spots. This indicates the presence of crystals of uric acid salts in the renal pelvis. This phenomenon is associated with a decrease in urine volume amid an increase in its concentration. If this condition lasts more than 24 hours, the child should be dosed with water.
Dyspepsia
Every baby is born with a completely sterile stomach and intestines. The necessary flora will be created in the course of contact with parents and other people. But not in all cases the situation is in the right direction. In the intestine, there is a struggle between different classes of microorganisms for their place. Even in the mother's body there are many pathogenic bacteria that can cause infection. But mainly those children who were born earlier than the due date or with low weight can become ill.
On the first day of life, babies are disturbed by stool disorder, which is evidence that enzyme production and the gallbladder begin to work. Moreover, this process in all children occurs in a strictly defined order. That is, at first it is meconium, and after a few days the stool turns a dark green shade.
During the transition period, the stool changes from green to yellow. Sometimes it may contain mucus or residues of undigested milk. Everything returns to normal only at the end of the first month of life.
Finally
As you can see, it is impossible to avoid transitional states in newborns, if only for the simple reason that this is laid down by mother nature herself. Some of them can be seen even in the maternity hospital, while others will appear after a couple of weeks.
In any case, they pass on their own, do not have a negative effect on the child and do not require surgical intervention by medical personnel. But at the same time, parents should be alert and, if there is any concern, consult a specialist.