Common Newborn Problems: What To Do & When To Get Help

Babies can fall sick quite easily. As a parent, your first instinct might be to bring your baby to a doctor immediately as it can be very worrying to see little infants in discomfort, however mild the symptoms may seem. It could be nothing, so it wouldn’t help to keep running to the doctor for every little thing. But what if it could be a sign of something more serious? How can you tell? Read on to find out about some common newborn problems and how to deal with them.

 

Cough/Cold/Fever

Symptoms of a cold are pretty straightforward. You would notice a blocked or runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, or even coughing or a fever. Bringing your baby to the doctor would be the best course of action and the doctor would prescribe certain medication, nasal decongestants, or nasal saline to help with the mucus and breathing.

 

As for when you notice your baby coughing, it might not necessarily mean that he or she is sick. It could just be the body’s natural action of clearing airways of mucus, bacteria, and irritating substances to soothe your baby, and would go away after a while. Allow your baby to rest and monitor him. If it gets worse and he starts to have difficulty in breathing or feeding, then it’s time to see a doctor.

 

With fever, it is the same as adults. A temperature of 37.5 degrees can make a baby very uncomfortable as it is a sign of an infection. So, bring your newborn to a doctor for a checkup if he has a fever.

 

While a cold, cough, and fever do not always come together, it is not uncommon to experience a combination or all 3 at the same time. Should that be the case, a visit to the doctor is a must.

 

Diarrhea

If you start noticing that your baby has been passing motion more frequently or if your baby’s stool has been more on the watery side, your baby might be having diarrhea. This also means that your baby is losing hydration. So, what you should do is feed him more milk or fluids, like electrolyte solutions which help to replace water and salts, that have been approved by the paediatrician. If it gets worse, or if your baby starts exhibiting these symptoms (listed below), bring him to the doctor.

 

1. Dehydration – At this point, your baby would have lost a lot of water and be experiencing a dry mouth, skin, and tongue.
2. Bloody stool with mucus
3. Refusal to drink
4. Frequent vomiting – 3 or more times in a day
5. Difficulty breathing and a fever
6. Clammy hands and feet
7. Severe abdominal pain
8. Frequent watery stools – 6 or more times in a day

 

Colic

Your baby might have colic if you see him or her being very fussy and crying intensely for long periods, usually during the evenings, often occurring for no apparent reason. Other symptoms may be your baby clenching his fists, curling his legs, and tensing his abdominal muscles. It usually happens when the baby is about 4 to 6 weeks old and can last till he is 3 months old. 

 

Colic doesn’t have a definite cause, but some of the possibilities that have been explored are an immature digestive system, food allergies or intolerances, excessive swallowing of air, imbalance of healthy bacteria in the digestive tract, overfeeding, underfeeding, infrequent burping, stress, and anxiety.

 

You could try to ease the discomfort by giving your baby small but frequent feeds and making sure to burp him well, holding him gently and close, and even singing or talking softly to him to calm him down. When you’ve exhausted all means, your option would be bringing him to the doctor and getting a prescription for colic medication.

Having a baby cry uncontrollably for a prolonged period can pack a lot of anxiety for both parents and child. If you feel very overwhelmed or helpless by the situation, seeing as how it can happen multiple times over the course of a couple of months, do seek help from your family and friends. An extra pair of hands or soothing words could be what you need.

 

Now, an experienced nanny would be able to tell when a baby is not feeling well and how to handle the situation. If you’ve engaged Singapore nanny services before, you would know how capable nannies can be as Singapore nanny services cover quite a wide range, from looking after mummy to caring for baby. 

If you’ve not engaged one before and are interested, it would be a good idea to go through confinement nanny review to learn about what they offer and pose some enquiries towards agencies or websites like PEM Confinement Nanny Agency’s to find out nanny Singapore price and more.