Babies are weighed daily in the nursery to assess growth, fluid, and nutrition needs. Newborn babies may often lose 5 to 7 percent of their birthweight. This means that a baby weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces at birth might lose as much as 8 ounces in the first few days.
Babies will usually gain this weight back by 2 weeks of age. Premature and sick babies may not begin to gain weight right away. Most hospitals use the metric system for weighing babies. This chart will help you convert grams to pounds. General appearance. Physical activity, tone, posture, and level of consciousness. Appearance, shape, presence of molding shaping of the head from passage through the birth canal. A complete physical examination is an important part of newborn care.
Each body system is carefully examined for signs of health and normal function. The doctor also looks for any signs of illness or birth defects.
Physical examination of a newborn often includes the assessment of the following:. Assessing a baby's physical maturity is an important part of care. Maturity assessment is helpful in meeting a baby's needs if the dates of a pregnancy are uncertain. For example, a very small baby may actually be more mature than it appears by size, and may need different care than a premature baby.
A baby's gestational age often can be closely estimated using this examination. The physical maturity part of the examination is done in the first two hours of birth. The neuromuscular maturity examination is completed within 24 hours after delivery. Information often used to help estimate babies' physical and neuromuscular maturity are shown below.
Babies who are physically mature usually have higher scores than premature babies. Points are given for each area of assessment, with a low of -1 or -2 for extreme immaturity to as much as 4 or 5 for postmaturity. The presence of testes and the look of the scrotum, from smooth to wrinkled, is verified. Female genitals. The appearance and size of the clitoris and the labia are noted. Square window.
How far the baby's hands can be flexed toward the wrist. Arm recoil. How well the baby's arms spring back to a flexed position. Gestational age assessment is an important way to learn about your baby's well-being at birth.
By identifying any problems, your baby's healthcare provider can plan the best possible care. Help me find at CHKD. Menu Header. Enter Your Condition:. Moreover, there is an apparent association of interrupted transrerse creases and intrauterine methadone exposure. Abstract An analysis of palmar crease variants was carried out in a group of "at risk" newborns, without any evident congenital anomalies.
Babies who are physically mature usually have higher scores than premature babies. Points are given for each area of assessment. A low of -1 or -2 means that the baby is very immature. A score of 4 or 5 means that the baby is very mature postmature. These are the areas looked at:. This hair is not found on immature babies.
It shows up on a mature infant, but goes away for a postmature infant. Plantar creases. These are creases on the soles of the feet. They can be absent or range up to covering the entire foot. The provider looks at the thickness and size of breast tissue and the darker ring around each nipple areola.
Eyes and ears. The provider checks to see if the eyes are fused or open. He or she also checks the amount of cartilage and stiffness of the ears. Genitals, male. The provider checks for the testes and how the scrotum looks. It may be smooth or wrinkled.
0コメント