Your little baby has been born and is now growing happily, rapidly exploring the world. But when should anewborn baby be taken to the doctor or when should the baby’s first check-up be done after birth?
Immediately after the baby is born , the baby is examined for the first time. After that, the first check-ups begin, even after the baby has been sent home
After the postpartum check-up has taken place, your baby will see its doctor 1-2 weeks later. This visit is very important to check the baby’s general health. In the first 6 months afterwards, your doctor may ask you to bring your baby for a check-up every month. Don’t worry! The postpartum check-up is a standard check-up and is repeated to make sure your baby is healthy.
Beware of the First Days!
The stages of the newborn examination can be explained as follows:
1. Examination immediately after birth:
A few minutes after the baby is born, the pediatrician arrives at the maternity ward and examines the baby. He performs an initial examination and prepares a report
2. Examination within the first 15 days after birth:
The first 15 days are important in the postpartum check-up schedule.Your doctor may want to see your baby frequently because the risk of jaundice in babies is high during this period.
3. Examinations that should be performed after birth:
During the first three months after birth, examinations are carried out in different areas such as the hip, eyes and hearing. There should also be a postnatal check-up to see whether the baby is eating well, whether it is gaining weight properly, and how its vision, hearing and coordination are developing .
The postpartum check-up is also an excellent opportunity to ask your doctor any questions you may have. You can make good use of this opportunity. It is also important for your doctor to get to know you and your baby better. For example, how you go about breastfeeding, baby care, your baby’s reactions.
What to Check for in Postpartum Babies?
This is how we can list the postnatal checks for your baby:
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Newborn Heart Examination
The doctor will check for heart murmurs with a stethoscope. These murmurs are quite common. Almost all children have lived with heart murmurs for some part of their lives and these murmurs are mostly harmless. Even if there is treatment, this is often nothing to worry about. If something unusual occurs, more detailed examinations will be carried out by specialists in addition to the routine postpartum check-up.
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Neonate Hearing Control
A newborn hearing test is done within a few weeks after birth. Sometimes it is done immediately after birth. There are also a number of simple tests to see if the baby responds to sound. An example of one of these tests is to check whether the baby responds by clapping a hand behind its head.
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Examination of the lungs, spine and genital area
 If your baby is a boy, the doctor will check the opening in the penis and the correct position of the two testicles. If your baby is a girl, the development of the vaginal area will be checked.
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Infant Hip Examination
Your baby’s legs and hips are gently moved to check for abnormal development. Here, abnormal development could mean congenital hip dislocation or developmental hip dysplasia. If a diagnosis is made, ultrasound may be needed for a detailed diagnosis.
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Visual Examination of a Newborn Baby
Your doctor will check that your baby can focus on an object and follow it. He or she will also make sure that your baby laughs, grins, cries and cries in an age-appropriate way.
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Measuring the Height and Weighing the Weight of the Baby
If your health worker wants to weigh the baby, you will need to remove the baby’s clothes and everything on the baby, including the diaper. The circumference of your baby’s head can also be measured. These records will be regularly monitored.
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Nutritional Control of the Baby
Your doctor will ask questions about your baby’s feeding routine. The baby’s first feeding is very important. In particular, he or she will ask you questions to make sure that the baby is sucking breast milk effectively. During the postnatal check-up, thebaby’s attention, color, muscle tissue and weight will be checked. If you have any questions about whether your baby is eating properly, now is the time to ask them
I Forgot to Ask the Doctor at Baby’s First Checkup!
Many new parents are very excited about their baby’s first doctor’s appointment. A baby’s first doctor’s appointment can be a source of enormous stress. Parents focus so much on the doctor’s assurance that everything is fine that they miss this wonderful opportunity to ask questions. So before you go to your baby’s first doctor’s visit, write down what you want to ask on a piece of paper or on your phone.