The neonatal period: characteristics, features

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

So 9 months have passed in anticipation of a miracle, the time when the expectant mother not only looks forward to the happiness of the upcoming meeting with her baby, but is also full of anxieties and fears about childbirth.

When the baby is born, it will seem that everything is already behind, but in fact, immediately after the birth, your child probably begins the most important period of the newborn life.

Length of the neonatal period

The neonatal period lasts until the end of the first month of a child's life (conditionally 28 days). And it begins with the first breath of the baby. In addition, it is customary to distinguish the early and late neonatal period. The early neonatal period lasts the first 7 days of life, and the late one, respectively, the next three weeks.

Essence and main characteristics of the neonatal period

The neonatal period is that period of time when the baby is physically separated from the mother, but the physiological bond is very strong.

The characteristic of the neonatal period of a baby has a number of features:

– incomplete maturity of systems and organs of a newborn baby;

– significant immaturity of the central nervous system;

– functional, biochemical and morphological changes;

– functional mobility of water exchange;

- the body of a newborn baby is highly susceptible to external factors (even minor changes can lead to serious disorders, and physiological processes flow into pathological ones).

The neonatal period is characterized by the fact that the baby sleeps almost constantly. Surrounded by affection, care, satisfaction of needs for food, drink and sleep by adults help the baby survive.

This period is also adaptive to new unfamiliar living conditions:

- gradually the baby begins to sleep less and stay awake more;

– visual and auditory systems develop;

- the first conditioned reflexes develop (for example, if the baby lies on his mother's knees, he knows to open his mouth and turn his head).

Description of an infant in the neonatal period

Description of a newborn baby has a number of main features:

1) In a newborn baby, you can observe differences in body proportions compared to an adult. The baby's head is much larger in relation to the body (in a full-term baby, the head weight is about 25% of the total body, in a premature baby - up to30-35%, while in an adult - about 12%). This feature is due to the fact that the development of the brain during the neonatal period is ahead of other organs and systems.

2) The head circumference of term babies is about 32-35 cm.

3) The shape of the head can be different, and it depends on the birth process. At birth by caesarean section, the baby's head is round. Passage through the natural birth canal of a baby involves the mobility of the bones of the skull, so the baby's head can be flattened, elongated or asymmetrical.

4) On top of the skull, the baby has a soft crown (from 1 to 3 cm) - the place of the head where there is no cranial bone.

Newborn face and hair

1) Newborn babies' eyes are usually closed on the first day of life, so it's hard to see them.

2) The nose of an infant is tiny and the nasal passages are narrow, the mucous membrane in the nose is delicate and therefore requires special care.

3) The lacrimal glands are not yet fully developed, so during the neonatal period, the baby cries but no tears are produced.

4) Most babies are born with dark-colored hair, which is most often washed out, leaving a permanent hairline. There are children who are born completely bald.

5) Baby's skin is very delicate and sensitive. The stratum corneum is thin. Skin color in the first minutes after birth is pale with a bluish tinge, while a little later the skin becomes pink and even reddish.

Does he seenewborn baby?

There is an opinion that after childbirth, the baby's hearing and vision are not fully developed, so the baby cannot see or hear anything. Only after some time does the baby begin to recognize silhouettes and hear voices and sounds. Like it or not, you need to figure it out. Find out when the child begins to see.

How and what do newborn babies see?

It has been scientifically proven that a newborn baby is able to see, because this function of the human body is innate and is formed in the womb. Another question is how well developed the visual organ is. Immediately after the child begins to see, all objects and people around him seem blurry. This is easily explained, because this is how vision gradually adapts to the new environment of life and is rebuilt.

It can be said for sure that a child after childbirth distinguishes between light and darkness well. He squints strongly if a source of bright light is directed at him, and slightly opens his eyes in darkness and semi-darkness. This is also easy to explain, because even an adult is difficult to get used to the bright light after being in the dark. A child in the womb is in semi-darkness, and is born, as a rule, in the delivery room, where there is bright light and lamps.

Although there are cases when the first minutes after birth, the baby can spend with his eyes wide open, and it seems that he is watching everything that happens around and does not take his eyes off his mother.

For about 2 weeks after birth, the baby maystop looking at an object for only 3-4 seconds.

Physiological conditions of the neonatal period

Features of the neonatal period are the so-called physiological conditions that every young mother should be aware of in order to prevent pathologies and diseases.

1) Erythema of the skin (on the hands and feet it looks reddish with a bluish tint due to vasodilation due to a decrease in temperature from 37 degrees in the womb to 20-24 and a change from water to air habitat). In this physiological process, the body temperature, appetite and general condition of the baby remain unchanged. After 3-4 days, the skin begins to peel off in places of redness. Such a process does not require treatment and special care.

2) Vascular reactions in the neonatal period. Most often, this physiological process occurs in premature babies. Can be observed:

- uneven reddening of the skin, when one part of the body acquires a reddish tint, and the other, on the contrary, is pale and even with a bluish tinge due to sleep or lying on one side;

– marbled, cyanotic skin manifestations occur due to the immaturity of the vascular system.

Such processes usually go away a few days after birth, but require medical supervision.

3) Neonatal jaundice is due to the immaturity of liver function and the inability to neutralize the increased amount of bilirubin in the blood. Physiological jaundice usually accompanies newborns in the first days of theirlife and disappears a week after birth. Premature babies require more attention, because this process is delayed and lasts about 1.5 months. If the yellowness remains, then you will need to contact a specialist.

4) Blockage of the sebaceous glands. Often in newborn babies, small white pimples can be found on the nose, forehead or cheeks, they should not be touched. In a few weeks, everything will pass by itself.

5) Acne. By the end of the first month of a child's life, small pimples with a white tint may appear on the face. This process does not require treatment and takes place after balancing hormones in the baby's body - after 2-3 months. Maintaining hygiene and applying a thin layer of "Bepanthen" 1 time in 3 days is the only thing that is allowed to do in this case.

Diseases of newborns

Diseases of the neonatal period can be divided into several types:

1) Congenital diseases - diseases that develop in the fetus in the womb as a result of exposure to negative environmental factors. These diseases include:

– congenital hepatitis in newborns is manifested if the mother has been ill during or before pregnancy;

– toxoplasmosis, which is transmitted from cats;

– cytomegalovirus infection;

– listeriosis (a newborn can be infected with this disease during pregnancy, childbirth or in the children's ward);

– congenital malaria;

– tuberculosis;

– syphilis.

2) Congenital malformations of organs and systems:

– malformations of the heart, lungs and gastrointestinal tract;

– congenital dislocation of the hip;

– congenital clubfoot;

– congenital torticollis.

3) Labor Injuries:

– skeletal damage;

– hypoxic birth injury.

Infectious diseases such as measles and rubella are not transmitted to children in the neonatal period, as the mother passes antibodies to them with breast milk during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Baby Crisis

The crisis of the neonatal period is the very process of the birth of a baby, its passage through the mother's birth canal.

According to psychologists, the process of birth is a very difficult and turning point for a child.

There are several main causes of such a crisis in newborns:

– Physiological. As a result of birth, the child is physically separated from his mother, which is a huge stress for him.

– The baby finds himself in unfamiliar living conditions, where everything is different from what was in the womb (habitat, air, temperature, light, change of nutrition system).

– Psychological reasons. After the birth and physical separation of the baby from the mother, the child is overcome by a feeling of anxiety and helplessness.

Immediately after birth, the baby survives due to innate unconditioned reflexes (breathing, sucking, orienting, defensive and grasping).

Baby Weight Gain Chart

Age, month	Mass, g	Height, cm	Head circumference, cm
After birth	3100-3400	50-51	33-37
1	3700-4100	54-55	35-39
2	4500-4900	57-59	37-41
3	5200-5600	60-62	39-43
4	5900-6300	62-65	40-44
5	6500-6800	64-68	41-45
6	7100-7400	66-70	42-46
7	7600-8100	68-72	43-46
8	8100-8500	69-74	43-47
9	8600-9000	70-75	44-47
10	9100-9500	71-76	44-48
11	9500-10000	72-78	44-48
12	10000-10800	74-80	45-49

The Newborns (Height and Weight) chart includes approximate monthly averages of infant height and weight gain.