Newborn: When to call a doctor?

Inexperienced parents may call on the help of their parents or those with more experience of newborn care, however there are times when certain symptoms arise that a doctor should be called immediately. These symptoms include:

• Fever
• Shaking or extreme drowsiness with floppy limbs
• Clogged eye tear ducts
• Common cold
• Loose watery stools (not typical to yellow ones from breast feeding)
• Changing nappies more than six to seven times a day
• Sudden changes in temperament or fussiness
• Unusual sounding crying spells
• Loss of interest in breastfeeding and eating
• Burping up greenish fluid
• Strained breathing

Babies soon develop a routine for sleeping, eating, and wakefulness that parents can adapt to and use as a pattern to identify if something with their newborn isn’t quite right. Such symptoms can be signs or indicators of more severe illness. Rather than fret in concern or feel too shy to contact a doctor in case of being wrong, it is better to place the newborn’s health first and seek help from a medical provider immediately.

Normal and abnormal baby poo

The difference between normal and abnormal baby poo is in the frequency of stools, colour and consistency. It also depends on whether the baby is breast feeding or on formula, and whether or not the infant has started digesting soft solids.

The stools after breastfeeding are usually a mustard colour, are soft but not watery and pass easily. Stools should be passed daily with about four to six changes. Pregnancy causes meconium to develop in the baby’s intestine that passes for a while after birth and is a green-to-black in colour. The meconium is a combination of amniotic fluid, bile, cells, mucus, and so on. After about the third day, the grainy stools turn browny-green until becoming yellow like mustard and smell sweet if breast feeding. This changes when solids are introduced.

Stools like pellets are not normal and may be accompanied by bleeding due to constipation. The baby should be checked by a medical professional so that damage isn’t caused due to pressure of trying to pass stools. Bottle fed babies are more prone to constipation. As the baby grows, it is important that the baby learns to pass stools without assisted stimulation that may be advised by medical professionals in the case of constipation. Getting medical advice about stools is important for the baby’s development.

Mothers soon identify normal stool patterns for their newborn and the changes as the baby develops.

Caring for your newborn:

• Caring for your newborn
• What are dummies?
• Newborns and movement
• Burping your baby
• Playing with your newborn
• Caring for newborns with and without circumcision
• Baby hair loss
• Baby Massage
• Newborn Clothing: Dressing and body temperature
• Newborn and home safety
• Newborn: When others want to hold or touch
• Babies and pets
• Baby constipation
• Baby clothes
• What should my first aid kit contain?
• Taking a baby’s temperature
• Baby medicine

• Coping with your newborn
• Newborn: When to call a doctor?
• Baby hygiene
• Trimming baby nails
• Caring for babies’ bottoms
• Baby poo
• How to care for your newborn’s body
• Newborns and nappies
• Caring for your Baby’s Clothes
• Baby Milestones
• Baby first aid
• Common baby emergencies
• How to help a choking baby
• Baby vomiting
• Keeping your baby safe
• Baby Monitors
• Baby swimming