Newborn Care: Tips for new parents

• Notice if baby is particularly fussy at certain times of the day and ensure that you don't save many chores for then.
• Bath baby at any time of the day but try and make it the same time each day. Before a feed and a sleep are good times, as babies will then be relaxed.
• If baby feeds with difficulty, examine the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks for raised thick white patches. This might be oral thrush and will require treatment with an anti-fungal oral gel, the tissue salt Kali mur, probiotic treatment or homoeopathic remedies. You will also need to treat your nipples with anti-fungal cream as cross-infection is likely.

• A newborn's genitals and breastsare often swollen for a week or so after birth. This is no reason for concern but simply a reaction to the hormones of pregnancy.
• A newborn will pass sticky green-black stools a few times – this is the meconium that has filled the bowel during pregnancy. It is best cleaned first using baby oil and then washing the buttocks with soapy water.
• Some baby girls pass a bit of blood from the vagina. This is a reaction to the hormones she has been exposed to while in the womb and will soon clear.

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