The Incredible Newborn Transitioning To Extrauterine Life

If you’ve just welcomed a newborn into this big, scary world of ours, you may be wondering what you can do to make your newborn feel safe. MH finds out.

- Christel Geralyn Gomes

Your baby has spent the last nine months in the safe, dark comfort of your womb. Whatever else may be said about how beautiful childbirth is, it is essentially a traumatic process for both you and your little one. Here's how you can help make her transition into the world as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Let Baby Recuperate While it may be incredibly exciting to finally have that sweet-smelling little bundle of joy in your arms, both you and your baby need time to recuperate from the stress of childbirth. As much as you want to hold and play with her, it’s a good idea to refrain for a while. According to our expert, Dr Tan Pih Lin, consultant at the Department of Neonatology at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, one of the best things you can do for your newborn is to let her sleep.

“The newborn, like his or her mother, will be tired after the delivery; the baby should be allowed to rest. Leave him to sleep and only wake him up for feeding. There should never be more than three hours between feeds, especially in the first one to two months of life. Care, such as nappy changes, should be timed around the baby’s feeds, rather than unnecessarily waking them up intermittently,” says Dr Tan.

Containment and Swaddling