What mothers know and don't know about babies

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Bui Thi Ha - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.
Mothers have 9 months to learn through books, newspapers, the internet and the experiences of friends in preparing for the arrival of their baby. Even so, there are still many things that can happen to a newborn that the mother may not know all about.

1. Taking care of young children

The process of caring for and nurturing a baby usually includes:
Breastfeeding : At first it may seem like your baby is constantly nursing, but over time you and your baby will have a steady pattern and amount of milk determined. Feed your child regularly and according to his or her needs. Wash and bathe your baby: In the first day after birth, you do not need to bathe your baby right away, but after 24 hours after birth, you need to bathe your baby every day. Change the baby's toilet after he goes to the toilet. Changing baby's diaper: Use warm water and soft towel to clean the baby, change the baby's diaper right after the baby goes to the toilet to avoid leaving it for too long to make the baby uncomfortable, affecting the baby's skin. Help your baby get a good night's sleep Helps reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): This syndrome is very rare. Therefore, mothers should not worry too much. Putting your baby on his or her back in a crib or sleeping in the same bed as you for the first 6 months will be a good way to reduce the risk to your baby even more. Plus, moms who don't smoke while pregnant or breastfeeding, and don't let others smoke in the same room as your baby, will also help protect them.

2. What mothers know and don't know about babies

2.1. Babies can sleep 16 hours a day There is nothing wrong with predicting a large amount of time that your infant will sleep in a day of more than 16 hours. But the pregnant women we surveyed said it might be necessary to lower this length a bit. It is expected that the survey results will have about 69% expecting the infant to sleep 16 hours or more. However, mothers who participated in the survey reported back with a fact check: Their babies slept an average of 14.3 hours.
Therefore, it is not surprising that 71% of mothers in the process of raising babies say that lack of sleep is their biggest problem during childbirth. But there's good news for expecting moms: Before you give birth, you predict you'll be woken up about four times a night to take care of your little one. However, through actual surveys, the results reported from mothers show that: On average, new mothers say they only have 2-3 more times in a night.
⇒ Are babies sleeping less worrying?
One reason new moms with a baby can be so tiring is that up to 70% of moms wake up and are alone to check on their newborn. Only about 25% of mothers have a partner or co-caregiver to care for the child at night, and only 1% of the partner or caregiver takes care of the child at night and does not care for the child. need help from mothers.

To overcome fatigue in mothers who have to get up and take care of their babies, mothers should have skills in time management. In case there is someone to support, mothers should take advantage of sleeping when having small children to ensure the mother's sleep time as well as ensure the mother's health.
2.2. Baby's Level of Observation, Sound, and Activity When we asked expectant mothers what their babies could do, they guessed their babies would probably do things like: drool and gas!" or "Grab your finger."
In case all of the above is certainly true, then prepare yourself to be able to raise your expectations for your baby. Because, your baby will be much more flexible than you expected!
In fact, about 87% of new mothers say that their baby can lift his head when lying on his stomach. This far exceeds the 9% of pregnant women who think some new babies will do this.
Furthermore, your baby will keep a closer eye on the world around you than you expect. Only 39% of mothers expect and think that a newborn can follow an object with their eyes, but in fact about 81% of mothers report that their babies observe and follow the world. surroundings very carefully.
More good news about activities kids can do on their own: You won't have to wait a long time, such as months, for your child to be active. While only 37% of pregnant women think that a baby 3 months or younger can smile, in fact, up to 88% of new mothers report that their baby is always grinning. In fact, 64% of mothers said their baby smiled before 5 weeks of age.
With smiles that have characteristic laughs such as: The giggles. Before the survey, only 7% of pregnant women thought that a newborn baby would smile, but in fact, the survey results showed that up to 38% of new mothers said that their baby smiled comfortably.
As for the child's level of perception of sound, before conducting the survey, about 67% of mothers thought that the infant would respond to sound. However, the actual results were higher as 83% of mothers said their babies had a good sense of sound
2.3. What to expect for sure Pregnant women can learn about a few key areas, but our survey shows they are only well informed about two of the key ingredients The most important steps in newborn care are: Feeding and excreting stools.
Mothers expect their newborn to use an average of 8.6 diapers per day. In reality, however, mothers reported an average number of diapers used for their babies of 8.1 per day.

All diapers are changed, which means there's a lot of eating and drinking going on. Pregnant women often expect their children to eat a meal after about every 2.4 hours, and their expectations are similar to the actual survey results: Surveyed mothers reported that their children ate later. The next meal is 2.6 hours from the previous one. However, there are still about 38% of women who say that constant feeding will be quite a problem for new mothers.
2.4. Surprises in the delivery room The first shocks that occur after the baby is born, it proves that mothers are not completely prepared for the baby. Conducted a survey of women before giving birth, up to 60% of women wanted to know what their baby would look like when it was born. The actual results showed that 28% of mothers said their baby was bigger than they expected.
Obviously, before welcoming a new member, mothers can research, plan and prepare themselves with useful information as well as prepare mentally to welcome the baby. About 34% of mothers said they were surprised to feel an immediate connection when their baby was born and 25% of mothers said they enjoyed watching their baby grow and change.
Please regularly visit Vinmec.com website and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.
Reference source: babycenter.com

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