Most newborn babies are born normal and healthy, however some babies will need some form of intervention to help them adjust to independent life. Some caregivers (or birthplaces) have policies of performing certain procedures routinely. Others will assess each baby, depending on their apparent needs. Most interventions are initiated in response to the baby not breathing on their own. This is generally reflected in the baby's Apgar score.
Your baby's
Apgar score will be automatically done (usually just visually) at 1 and 5 minutes of age. This score is a way of interpreting the health of your baby at birth and acts as a guide for your caregiver when deciding about implementing any procedures or interventions that may be needed.
Generally, when the Apgar score is 7 or more (at 1 minute), the caregiver can do things like checking the baby's breathing and heart rate, suctioning the baby's nose and mouth if necessary, stimulating the baby by rubbing their skin and warming them with blankets or a bunny rug, while the baby lies across their mother's belly or in her arms. Apgar scores less than 7 will usually require the baby to have some form of intervention, usually on a resuscitation table within the birthing room, but often a few feet away from the bed (if that is where the baby was born).
Your caregiver attending the birth will usually carry out any routine procedures. If your caregiver has concerns about your baby's health before the birth and you are in a hospital delivery suite or a birth centre within a hospital, a doctor with Paediatric qualifications may be present to perform them (as this is often the policy as a precautionary measure in many hospitals). If you are giving birth at home, your homebirth practitioner will perform any procedures required and only call for an ambulance if the baby is in need of transfer to the hospital because they are unwell.