The following are some procedures, or interventions, that your baby may require soon after the birth.
These can include:
Stimulating your baby
Suctioning the baby's nose and mouth
Giving oxygen and ventilating your baby
Identification and verification
Observations
Stimulating your baby
Some caregivers will stimulate the baby in some way to encourage them to take a breath. In the 1950's and 1960's the traditional way was to hold the baby upside down and give their bottom a smack!!! This no longer happens (or we hope it doesn't anyway). However, your caregiver may use other more subtle ways to stimulate your baby. These can include:
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Rubbing the baby's body with a warm towel or bunny rug. |
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Tickling their toes or rubbing their feet. |
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Gently blowing on their face. |
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Talking to your baby, or asking you to talk to your baby. |
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Suctioning the baby's nostrils. |
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Ventilate the baby's lungs (to help them to breathe). |
Suctioning the baby's nose and mouth
The suctioning of a baby's nose and/or mouth at birth is a practice that has been around for many years. It is aimed at clearing the baby's airways to help them to breathe. In the last 5 years or so, the value of this intervention as a routine procedure has been questioned. It is now believed that most healthy babies do not require any suctioning and are quite capable of clearing their airways on their own.
The fact that babies, on average, are born with up to 75 to 100 mls of amniotic fluid in their lungs already (being fully absorbed within 24 hours after the birth), means that another 1 or 2 mls from their nose and mouth will not make much difference.