A Tour of Your Newborn

Many first-time parents are more than a little shocked to discover that newborn babies are wet, wrinkled, and red-faced—not exactly the plump, chubby-cheeked cherubs that they may have envisioned before the birth. And, what’s more, newborn babies may also have a few other features that may be worrying to their parents—bluish hands and feet, body hair, a moulded head, and so on. Here’s a quick tour of a healthy newborn from head to toe.

Head:

- Don’t be alarmed if your baby looks a bit like one of “the Coneheads” of Saturday Night Live fame. Your baby’s head will assume a more rounded appearance within a few days of the birth as the plates in your baby’s skull shift back into their pre-labour positions.

- Wondering why there seems to be an abundance of extra skin at the back of your baby’s head? Blame it the on shifts in your baby’s body fluid balance as he adjusts to life outside the womb. (Don’t worry. It won’t be long before your newborn “grows into” his skin.)

- Worried about touching your baby’s “soft spot”? The membranes that cover your baby’s anterior (front) and posterior (back) fontanels provide a fair bit of protection, so as long as you handle your baby with care, you don’t have to worry about accidentally injuring your baby.

- If your baby was delivered with the aid of forceps (medical instruments that look like salad tongs), he may arrive with a few minor bumps and bruises. And if he hitched a ride down the birth canal with a vacuum extractor (another type of medical device), he may end up with a temporary suction mark on his head as well.

- Labour isn’t just physically demanding for the mother: it’s hard work for the baby, too. Some babies are born with a caput succedaneum (a swelling of the soft tissues of the skull that can occur during labour as the baby’s head pushes against the cervix). Fortunately, this swelling tends to subside on its own shortly after the birth. Other babies are born with a cephalohematoma—a raised bump that is caused by the pooling of blood between the skull bone and the tough covering of the skull during the birthing process. While cephalohematomas can be alarming to look at, they usually disappear on their own within a couple of weeks.

Hair:

- Some babies are born with a full head of hair: others are completely bald. Rest assured that any amount of hair is “normal.”

- Your newborn may have some soft, downy hair on his upper back and other parts of his body. This hair—known as lanugo—usually disappears within the first week of life and is more abundant in slightly premature infants.

Face:

- Don’t panic if your baby’s face is swollen or if there are patches of bluish bruising or flat streaks of broken blood vessels on his face. These changes are all temporary and result from the tight squeeze during birth.

- Concerned about your baby’s flat nose or receding chin? There’s nothing to worry about on that front either. Over time, your baby’s nose and chin will start to look more normal.

Eyes:

- Your baby may be born with puffy, droopy eyelids and eyes that are tightly squeezed together. Don’t worry: it’ll only be a matter of time before your baby starts flashing his baby blues (or browns).