After childbirth, when doctors come to the conclusion that you and the baby are all right, you will be transferred to the ward in the postpartum department. And you can take care of your baby.
Together or separately?
If possible, you can choose a room where you will be alone with your baby or with other moms and children. By the way, this neighborhood can be very useful - you will have the opportunity to go to the shower or to the procedures, leaving the crumb under supervision. Also you will be able to share your impressions about childbirth and gain experience. Perhaps in the ward there will be women, for whom these births are not the first. It is much more fun to spend these three days in the hospital. Neighborhood in the hospital often becomes the beginning of friendship between newly mummies and their children of the same age. But there are women who after birth are annoyed by the presence of a stranger. Then, of course, you should choose a single room.
Sleeping area.
For each newborn a cot is provided on wheels - it looks like a bathtub made of transparent plastic. Even lying on the bed you can see your little girl. Also, you have the opportunity to shift the baby to yourself - this will facilitate breastfeeding, since you do not have to get up. In case you had difficult births, you can take the help of nurses. And do not worry that you will have to take care of yourself. At any time, one of the staff will tell you or help. If you need to rest for several hours, ask the child to be taken to the nursery.
Required clothing
Collecting things for the maternity hospital, find out what order it has. Most likely, you will need your own robe and nightdress (maybe not one). In some maternity hospitals, you can bring and all bed linen. Do not forget about slippers, underwear, padding and hygienic supplies. Remember that the panties after childbirth should not fit snugly, so as not to hinder the outflow of blood and loch in the first days after birth. Take a couple of bras for nursing mothers.
For the child, take a cap, a few body and "little men" from natural cloth a few diapers and a pair of socks. The rest of the things take on the weather. Also take with you a package of disposable diapers for newborns, wet wipes and baby soap. To wash the baby and change the diaper will teach you a nurse or roommates in the ward who already have the experience of motherhood. Do not put crumbs on the pillow, because the baby's spine is not yet formed, in addition, there is a chance of suffocation.
Feeding at will.
The first 2-3 days mom feeds the newborn colostrum. Postnatal colostrum is dense and satisfying, the child is quite enough to eat and fall asleep sweetly. And that he did not have problems with sucking, from the first feeding it is very important to put the crumb to the breast correctly. Unfortunately, not in every maternity hospital you can count on the help of a specialist in breastfeeding. In this case, turn to a midwife or a neonatologist (a pediatrician), they will show how to feed a baby, massage the breast and if necessary, decant milk. When you put the baby, try to keep your chest from being hard. If the breast is heavily filled with milk, it is necessary to express it a little, then it will be easier for the baby to grab the nipple.
After birth, your baby may not be hungry, you probably will have a desire to eat. Take from the house a bottle of still water and a light snack (banana, biscuits, corn flakes). If the food in the maternity hospital does not suit your taste, ask your husband, mother or girlfriend to give you home food. Just be careful, do not use products that can cause allergies or increased gas separation.
In the first days of life the baby loses a little weight - do not worry - this is a physiological loss, it is justified by the energy costs of the adaptation mechanisms. In a few days, when this process is stopped, the child will start gaining weight. And now the long-awaited moment - my mother and baby are discharged home (5-6th day after birth).
Try for these three days, which you spend with the baby in the maternity home to learn about how to properly care for the baby, as much as possible. Do not hesitate to ask questions to doctors and nurses.
Time for visits.
Now, in the maternity ward to the mother and the baby can come not only the father, but also relatives and friends. But if there are several people in your room, explain to those wishing to visit you that it is not very convenient, as frequent visits can interfere with your neighbors. Try to plan visiting hours so that the whole day in the house people do not crowd. And do not let people come to you with respiratory diseases - they can infect you and the baby.
Inoculations in the hospital.
Already on the first day of life, doctors will be offered to vaccinate a newborn, then, for 3-5 days, another. Vaccines are drugs that promote the creation of artificial immunity, necessary to protect the baby from a particular pathogen. Vaccines are produced by complex biochemical processes from microorganisms and products of their vital activity. The vaccine entering the body of the child, interacts with the blood cells - lymphocytes. As a result of this contact, antibodies are formed - special protective proteins, which remain in the body for a certain period of time (year, five years and longer). At the next meeting, already with the live pathogen, the antibodies are recognized and neutralized, and the person does not get sick. Each country has its own generally accepted vaccination schedule. In addition, there are certain contraindications when vaccination should be postponed for a certain time or canceled altogether. For example, with allergic reactions or some diseases of the baby. You should know that vaccinations in the hospital are done only with the consent of the parents, so to introduce a vaccine to a crumb or not is only your conscious choice. If you agree with the need for vaccinations in the hospital, then try to attend when vaccinating your baby. Be sure to ask the manufacturer and the expiration date of the vaccine.