One of the first questions new parents ask me during the first week or two of baby’s life is “Can we take the baby out?” Often there is a grandparent in the background urging home detention for the newborn. Is this necessary? The answer is a qualified “no.” Getting out of the house once Mom is feeling like the “duck waddle” is gone is good for both baby and parents. There is nothing harmful about getting fresh air and exercise. Bear in mind certain caveats:
Temperature Control
· A full term baby has some temperature instability (when he or she gets a little chilly and needs extra blankets) for the first forty eight hours after birth. A premature baby may continue to have temperature instability for a longer period of time; premature babies are kept in temperature controlled isolettes in the nursery until they are able to maintain their temperature.
· After the first few days, the baby is able to maintain his temperature, but during a walk outside, he will be stationary while the parents may be mobile. Add an extra layer of clothing to the baby to compensate for this if temperatures are cool or cold.
· An easy way to see if the baby is too hot or too cold is to check his hands and feet. If they are blue or cold, add another layer of clothing or a blanket. If the baby feels hot and sweaty, take off a layer.
Infection
· The biggest risk to an infant in the first six to eight weeks of life is infection. A newborn receives antibodies across the placenta from the mother, but these antibodies are only effective against infections the mother has had. These antibodies are temporary and begin to wane during the first year of life.
· While the newborn’s immune system is still immature, it can be helped by breast feeding and avoiding infection during the first two months. The best way to do this is to have everyone wash their hands before touching the baby and keep young children or anyone with an infection away from the baby.
· If a newborn gets a fever (101.4 rectally) during the first two months, doctors must aggressively evaluate the baby and may need to do blood and urine tests (and occasionally a spinal tap) to look for bacterial infection. The reason for this aggressive response is that babies can get sick quickly and it may be hard to tell a simple viral infection (such as a cold) from a virulent bacterial infection.
· Avoid groups of humans who may be inclined to “kootchy koo” your baby without washing their hands.
· Keep a hand sanitizer with the baby at all times, whether inside or out. When a well-meaning friend or relative wants to hold the baby, you can blame your pediatrician on insisting on hand-washing.
· Another frequent question from new parents is, “Can we fly to India, Mozambique, Singapore, Seattle, Los Angeles….with our baby?” Ideally, it would be best to wait at least until the baby is eight weeks old for the reasons discussed above. Viruses can exist on seat fabric, tabletops, and blankets for an extended period of time, and we are all familiar with the airborne viruses from the recycled air on airplanes that have us sneezing and snorting on return from a trip. Many parents today, however, do travel with their newborns to see ailing family members or excited grandparents. Parents must weigh the risk of the baby picking up a virus against the gain the trip presents.
· At two months of age, your baby should get the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and the polio vaccine (Pediarix).
What do you think? Have you found baby joggers, bjorns, portable car seats/day beds liberating? Do you shudder when you see an infant on a plane? Do you think we are becoming germ-obsessed with our little bottles of hand sanitizers?
Dr. Victoria McEvoy graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1975 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at HMS. She is the Medical Director and Chief of Pediatrics at Mass General West Medical Group. She has practiced pediatrics for almost thirty years. She has been married to Earl for thirty six years and raised four children. She currently enjoys writing, traveling, reading, almost all sports, and spending time with her two grandsons.
Eat, Play, and Be Healthy
Parents are often bombarded with new information on children’s nutrition, and as a result, the most important dietary considerations often get lost in the mix. From Harvard Medical School, Eat, Play, and Be Healthy offers guidance on healthy eating through the various stages of children’s lives, from infants to eight-year-olds. From breastfeeding to school lunches, get the tools to put your child on the path to a healthy adulthood.
Do you have a baby? Connect with others with similar health concerns and issues. Click here to join the group.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 21
I most admit I loved my baby jogger. I could get out of the house with the baby and jog to my heart and legs content with my sleeping baby utterly content.
As for checking hands and feet for temp control, cold hands and feet run in my family, so I actually check the legs or arms to better gauge their comfort condition. If it's cool to the touch, I immediately add cover.
Thanks, Vicky!
You mentioned breastfeeding as something that is beneficial to infant immunity. I would be very interested in your full viewpoint on breastfeeding in a future article. Our 2 daughters are now grown, but I feel they really got a good start on life with around 12 months each of breastfeeding and I regret that this is not the norm in our nation.
In a word, yes.
We've also become quite antibiotic 'nutty', and have interfered with our bodies' natural immune system.
For tiny babies, though, I think erring on the side of caution is a good thing. The problem is not knowing when to stop being so overly protective and germophobic.
My great-niece, age 8, is a good example. Her parents(my niece & her hubby) are both bona fide germophobes. Their home is immaculate, and they don't allow my niece to play in the dirt, or anything that could "soil" her. They both make her use sanitizers whenever Kayla even plays on the carpet, in addition to handwashing. There is rarely a family get together that the kid isn't sick or getting over one thing or another. Its because she has so little natural immunity.
I know as a mother, I cannot shelter my girl away from the "real world" because one day, she would have to face the 'real world" eventually. I expose her to that early. When you rear a child (in all aspects), you do it from day 1, not age 2. You make them know you're right, they're wrong, but its okay to make mistakes. They listen.. They respect. That's the way it goes. Believe it or not, my newborn knows the sound of "No" and puckers her lips. She throws a fit because I will only hold her 1-3 hours a day and then let her play or sleep the rest of the time, but then again, do I want to spoil her and interfere with her sleep? Do I want her to expect stuff in life? No. I do not want her to expect, expect, and expect. That isn't the way you do things. You don't expect mommy to be there EVERY instant. You don't expect things in life... because if you do, the chances of it happening are rare. You have to fight for what's right in this world and if you teach a child to think mommy will be there from day 1, then they will expect when a teenager, and perhaps, some in adulthood. You have to teach respect young. You have to teach patience young. Am I there constantly when my baby needs me? Most of the time. Not all the time. I make her wait, while I take my time fixing a bottle. What am I doing? I'm teaching her to wait 5 minutes, while I reassure her, telling her mommy is fixing a bottle, but you need to be patient (mommy can only go so fast). If you're there for your child CONSTANTLY, they will not sleep through the night. They will want you to hold them; cuddle with them, and so forth. Now when we are in Walmart, people are like, "oh, she is sound asleep." That's right. I explain to them, 1-3 hours a day of playtime. She gets to entertain herself. I don't spoil her. That's the worst a mother can do. I saw myself walk over my father and it makes me sad looking back on it. Do I want my daughter to do the same to me? No. Absolutely not!
Of course, she is going to push her way through and try to see how far mommy or daddy will go, but that's fine. Every child will do that, but if you let them know boundaries in advance, they won't even try to attempt crossing those boundaries. That's what is wrong with the world - the world shelters kids away from it and tries to not set boundaries with their children from day 1.
And the motherly saying goes: Do As I Say, Not As I Do....
My father told me when I was a child, when getting a shot that if I use my muscles, it will make it heal up quicker. I've always took this in consideration and till this day, I've healed a quick recovery. My OB/GYN checked my stitches at the two-week mark and I was good, and then again today and once again he said, "good healing." Its just common sense and people let rubbish and myths fill their heads full of crap. You just gotta be yourself and stop listening to the majority of the world... that's when you learn more from your own experience. Just a word of advice.