The newborn period
A new man came into the house. That's what it's called - a newborn. The newborn period is 4 weeks, i.e. 28 days. This is a very important period of life. All the factors that threaten a person's life are particularly dangerous at this time. It is well known that more than half of the children who died in the first year of life die in the newborn period. A special science has been created - neonatology. Its purpose is to study the peculiarities of the organism during the first weeks of life and to find the most effective ways of prevention and treatment of diseases in this age period, to develop optimal conditions for nursing and rational feeding of children.
A newborn child has a number of features in the structure and activity of all organs and systems. The number of erythrocytes and, consequently, hemoglobin, responsible for the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and leukocytes, designed to combat pathogens, is increased in the blood. The metabolism is very intense, and the amount of blood thrown out of the heart when reduced is small. It is compensated for by a high heart rate, the indicator of which is the pulse rate, which in children of the 1st month of life reaches 120-150 beats per minute.
Pulse in a newborn is unstable, sometimes arrhythmic, which is associated with the peculiarities of the nervous-muscular apparatus of the heart itself, as well as with the lack of maturity of the nervous system that controls the heart.
The muscular system is represented by the same muscles as an adult. But these muscles are underdeveloped. From the 1st month of life they begin to develop quickly, but not simultaneously. Muscles that serve important life functions (respiratory, protective, etc.) develop earlier than others. Infants have increased muscle flexor tone. This explains the characteristic position of the body: arms bent in the elbows with the hands clenched in the fists are close to the head, and the legs bent in the hip joints are brought to the abdomen. This position is necessary to maintain body temperature and breathing.
In the first days and weeks of life, the child, of course, with the help of adults adapts to the existence. He or she learns to regulate the digestive processes, maintain a constant body temperature, tries to respond appropriately to external influences, begins to see and hear. It reveals innate skills (unconditional reflexes: sucking, swallowing, blinking, etc.) and the first glimpses of conscious activity (conditional reflexes). For example, at the end of the newborn period, the child, who was repeatedly applied to his or her chest after taking a familiar pose, starts to get his or her lips soaked in preparation for the act of sucking.
Newborn at home
The child's way into the house is usually a solemn one. This is good and bad. It is good that the meeting of a child becomes a home party. Relatives and friends gather. Flowers and gifts are waiting for the child. It is bad that the baby's contact with people is too great. Sometimes children get such a dose of infection during watching holidays that they cannot stand it and get sick, and the neighbors say: "jinxed". Hence the wish: during the meeting the child should be in a separate room and can only be shown from afar, through the door.
Even before the birth of the child, it is necessary to allocate and equip a children's room or a corner in the most illuminated part of the room, freeing it from unnecessary items. This will make it easier to clean and keep it clean.
The air temperature in the room should be at least 22°C. (Additional heaters may be used in the cold season.) However, raising the air temperature above 23-23°C is not recommended, as it leads to overheating of the child and reduction of resistance to colds.
Regardless of the time of year, it is necessary to open wide access to fresh air in the room where the child is staying. For this purpose, the room should be ventilated several times a day. The best way to ventilate is by draught. The air movement is 7 times more intense than usual. The through flow also carries away some of the dust that is suspended in the air. Walls, furniture do not have time to cool down and quickly warm fresh air. The child should be taken out of the room before the through-ventilation. If he stays in the crib, he should be covered with a warm blanket. In the cold season for ventilation open a fanlight or window (in the absence of a child). Keep the windows open all day in summer, and if possible at night.
In the room where the child is placed, it is impossible to wash and dry diapers and linen, smoking is strictly prohibited. Its design should be simple and functional: it is necessary to remove curtains, curtains and other dust-collecting and unused things. Floors, windows, doors and furniture should be wet-cleaned daily.
Not so long ago, the first thing that appeared in the house with the baby was a cradle. Then a crib was invented and the cradle was temporarily forgotten. However, now doctors and child psychologists claim that it is better for a newborn to adapt to the external environment in the cradle: in an enclosed space the child feels.