Newborn Toolkit

Feeding

Breast-feeding is the best option for feeding newborn babies and a lovely way to get to know your baby. It is cheap, safe, helps with mother-baby attachment and improves immunity. It may take some time to establish good breast-feeding, and our midwives will assist you with this. Your initial milk supply (colostrum) will often be small in volume, but is an important source of nutrition and sugar for your baby. Normal breast milk supply usually begins to 'come in' after the first 72 hours. Some mothers will need to 'express' their breast milk initially if their supply is low, the baby is not attaching well or if the baby is losing too much weight. The midwives will assist you with this process as well.

Some babies require extra 'top up' feeds if they do not maintain their weight initially. This may be done with expressed breast milk (EBM), although formula may also be required. This is safe and effective and will improve your baby's strength to breast-feed. The aim will be to move to full breast-feeding as soon as possible. Breast-feeding is not for everyone, and many small babies (less than 3kg) require formula for feeding. Formula is a safe and effective way to feed, and you should not feel guilty if you choose this for yourself and your baby. Most babies are very comfortable with normal cow's milk based formulas (e.g. Heinz, Karicare, Nan, S26 (Alula)). These are all government controlled and are very similar. Swapping between these different formulas is not likely to make a big difference to constipation, irritability or many other symptoms. Some babies require a specialised formula (e.g. Peptijunior, Alfare, Neocate, Elecare), although this should be discussed with your doctor.

Jaundice

Many babies will become mildly jaundiced after day two of life, which is quite normal. Babies may also be sleepy or feed poorly when they are jaundiced. If the level of jaundice (bilirubin) appears too high or occurs too early, we will check the bilirubin level with a blood test. Treatment for high bilirubin levels involves phototherapy ('lights'), a very safe and effective way to prevent extremely high jaundice levels causing harm to your baby. Your  Paediatrician will talk to you about this if required.

Weight Loss

It is normal for babies to lose weight in the first few days after birth. Your baby will have his/her weight checked on day three of life. If your baby loses more than 10% of his/her birth weight, your Paediatrician will offer advice regarding feeding and any additional tests required to reduce the chance of your baby becoming unwell.

Vitamin K

This is an intramuscular injection given to all babies within the first few hours of life. Vitamin K is required to prevent bleeding in newborn babies. Unfortunately, very little vitamin K is passed to your baby through the placenta or via breast feeding. This medication is injected into the muscle because oral absorption of vitamin K in the newborn is poor and is less effective at preventing the risk of bleeding. Vitamin K is proven to be extremely safe and very effective at preventing severe bleeding in the newborn.

Hepatitis B Immunisation

This is the first immunisation in the routines schedule for Australian babies, and substantially decreases the risk of contracting hepatitis B. This will be offered to your baby shortly after birth and has been shown to be both safe and effective. We strongly recommend this for all babies

Newborn Screening Test

Babies in Australia are routinely tested for many rare diseases at birth. These problems are important to know about early as many have very effective treatments. This is done via a 'heel prick' blood test on day three of life. Results are only notified to the treating doctor if they are abnormal.

Newborn Hearing Screen

Your baby will have a routine hearing check whilst in hospital. This is a screening process to detect those babies with possible hearing problems, and if your baby does not pass this screen a formal hearing test will be arranged at a later date.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Mothers who have low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy, even if treated, need their babies to be supplemented with vitamin D to avoid low calcium levels. This is done using Ostevit D Liquid 0.1 ml (2 drops) daily for the first 6-12 months of life. If required, your Paediatrician will discuss this.