The neonatal period: characteristic features

Just passed 9 months in expectation of a miracle, a time when the expectant mother not only anticipates the happiness of the upcoming meeting with her baby, but also filled with anxieties and fears about childbirth.

When the light will be a baby, it will seem that everything is over, but in fact, immediately after birth, your child starts certainly the most important in life, the neonatal period.

The duration of the neonatal period

The neonatal Period lasts until the end of the first month of life (nominally 28 days). And it begins with the first breath of the baby. In addition, it is customary to distinguish early and late neonatal period. Early neonatal period lasts for the first 7 days of life and late, respectively, – the next three weeks.

The Essence and main characteristics of the neonatal period

The Neonatal period – a period of time when the baby is separated from the mother physically but physiological relationship is very strong.

Characteristics of the neonatal period the baby has a number of features:

– a partial maturity of the systems and organs of the newborn infant;

– considerable immaturity of the Central nervous system;

– changes in the functional, biochemical and morphological character;

– functional mobility of water exchange;

– the body of a newborn baby is very susceptible to external factors (even small changes can lead to serious disorders and physiological processes in the pathological flow).

The neonatal Period is characterized by the fact that the baby is almost always sleeping. Environment affection, care, satisfaction of needs in food, drink and sleep adults need to survive baby.

This period is also the adaptation to new, unfamiliar living conditions:

– gradually the baby begins to sleep less and stay awake more;

– develop visual and auditory systems;

– develop the first conditioned reflexes (for example, if the baby fell on the lap of his mother, he knows what it takes to open her mouth and turn your head).

Description of the infant during the neonatal period

Description a newborn baby has some basic features:

1) the newborn baby can observe differences in the body proportions in comparison with an adult. The baby's head much more in proportion with the body (have a full-term infant, the mass of the head is about 25% of the whole body, premature - to 30-35%, whereas the adult – 12%). This feature is due to the fact that the development of the brain in the neonatal period is ahead of other organs and systems.

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2) head Circumference in full-term babies is around 32-35.

3) the shape of the head may be different, and it depends on the generic process. At birth by caesarean section, the baby's head round. Passing through the natural birth canal of the child provides for the mobility of the bones of the skull, so the baby's head can be squished, elongated or asymmetrical shape.

4) Top of skull baby has a soft skull (from 1 to 3 cm) – place the head where there is no skull bone.

Face and hair of the newborn

1) the eyes of newborn babies in first day of life is usually closed, so it's hard to consider them.

2) the Nose of the tiny baby, and the nasal passages – narrow, the mucous membrane of the nose – delicate, so requires special care.

3) the Lacrimal gland is not yet fully developed, so in the neonatal period the child is crying, but the tears are not highlighted.

4) Most children are born with hair of dark color, which are often erased, and there is permanent hair. There are children who are born completely bald.

5) a baby's Skin is delicate and sensitive. The stratum corneum – fine. The color of the skin in the first minutes after birth – pale with a bluish tinge, while a little later the skin becomes pink or even reddish.

See whether a newborn baby?

There is an opinion that after birth the baby's hearing and eyesight are not fully developed, so the child can't see and hear. Only after some time the baby begins to recognize the silhouettes and hear voices and sounds. Like it or not, you need to understand. Find out when the child begins to see.

Like what you see newborn babies?

It is Scientifically proven that a newborn baby is able to see, because the function of the human body is congenital and formed in the womb. Another question is how well-developed visual organ. Immediately after, when the child begins to see all objects and people around him seem vague. This is easily explained, because so vision is gradually adapting to the new environment and rebuilt.

Just to say that the child after birth recognizes light and darkness. He squints heavily, if it is aimed to bright light, and opens his eyes in the darkness and gloom. It is also easy to explain, because even an adult is difficult to get used to bright light after being in darkness. The child in the womb isit is in the darkness and are born usually in the delivery room, where bright lights and lamps.

Although there are cases when the first minutes after birth a baby can hold with eyes wide open, and it seems that he observes everything happening around and did not take his eyes of his mother.

For about 2 weeks after the birth of a baby can stop the glance on the subject of only 3-4 seconds.

The Physiological state of the neonatal period

Features of neonatal period – the so-called physiological state, which every young mother should know to prevent illnesses and diseases.

1) Erythema of the skin (on the hands and feet it looks reddish with a bluish tinge due to the expansion of blood vessels, due to the reduction in temperature from 37 degrees in the womb to 20-24 and change water air habitat). This physiological process, the body temperature, appetite and the General condition of the baby remain unchanged. After 3-4 days the skin begins to peel off in places redness. This process does not require treatment and special care.

2) of the Reaction vessels in the neonatal period. Most often, this physiological process occurs in premature infants. It is possible to observe:

– nonuniform redness of the skin, when one part of the body becomes reddish, and the other – on the contrary, pale and even bluish tint due to sleep or lying on one side;

– marble, cyanotic manifestations on the skin appear due to immaturity of the vascular system.

These processes usually take place a few days after birth, but require medical supervision.

3) neonatal Jaundice is manifested because of the immaturity of the liver and inability to neutralize an increased amount of bilirubin in the blood. Physiological jaundice usually accompanies the newborn in the first days of their lives and is held a week after the birth. Premature babies require more careful attention, because this process is delayed and lasts about 1.5 months. If the discoloration remains, you will need treatment from a specialist.

4) the Blockage of the sebaceous glands. Often in newborn babies on the nose, forehead or cheeks you can discover small white bumps, they can't be touched. Few weeks it goes away.

5) Acne. By the end of the first month of life the child can appear small pimples with a white shade on your face. This process does not require any treatment and disappears after a balance in the body of the baby hormones – in 2-3 months. Hygiene and applying a thin layer of "Bepanthen" 1 time in 3 days – the only thing allowed to do in this case.

Disease of the newborn

Diseases of the neonatal period can be divided into several types:

1) Congenital disease – diseases that develop when the fetus is in the womb as a result of exposure to negative environmental factors. These conditions include:

– the type of congenital hepatitis in newborns is manifested in the case, if they had the mother during or before pregnancy;

– toxoplasmosis, which is transmitted from cats;

– cytomegalovirus infection;

– listeriosis (a newborn can be infected with this disease during pregnancy, childbirth or in the children's Department);

– congenital malaria;

– tuberculosis;

– syphilis.

2) Congenital defects of organs and systems:

– heart disease, lung and gastrointestinal tract;

– congenital hip dislocation;

– congenital clubfoot;

– congenital torticollis.

3) the Trauma of labor:

– the skeletal damage;

– hypoxic birth injury.

Such infectious diseases as measles and rubella, children in the neonatal period do not become infected because the mother during pregnancy and after childbirth along with breast milk gives them antibodies.

The Crisis of a newborn baby

The Crisis in the neonatal period – the process of birth of the baby, pass him through the birth canal of the mother.

According to psychologists, child birth process is very complex and the turning point.

There are several main reasons for this crisis in newborns

– the Physiological. By birth the child is physically separated from his mother, that was a huge stress.

– the Baby falls in the unfamiliar conditions of life, where everything is different from what was in the womb (habitat, air, temperature, light, change of the power system).

– Psychological causes. After birth and the physical separation of the baby from the mother a child is a sense of anxiety and helplessness.

Immediately after birth, the baby survives because of innate unconditioned reflexes (breathing, sucking, tentative, protective, and grasping).

Table of weight gain of newborns

Таблица новорожденных (вес и рост) включает приблизительные среднемесячные показатели прибавки роста и веса у младенцев.