How to Check Your Newborn

Kara Schafer: All babies that are delivered here get a vitamin K. It is a shot that they get in their thigh and that is to help with their clotting. Every baby gets it, and also we also put erythromycin ointment on the eyes to prevent infection. So, we start pressing the baby’s thigh. It makes babies cry and no babies like to get a shot. No one likes to get a shot. Today, Apgar scores that, and this particular child was 8 and 9, which is an excellent score. It measures color, heart beat, measures breathing, measures several different aspects of stability and the baby.

And next what I am going to do is put this erythromycin in the baby’s eyes and that just prevents infection. If scores are good enough well and wrap baby up within a few minutes delivery and take her to mom or dad depending on who wants to be the first to hold.

I know. It is a warm environment under here, because these are all heated, but the babies tend to get cold around now.


Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services