Episode 10: Delaying Newborn Procedures

Newborn procedures. Making informed decisions! Today we’re talking about the the Golden Hour after birth, the birthing person and the baby are both catching their breath/learning to breath and adjusting to this new reality. There are many benefits of delaying newborn procedures (weighing, measuring, baby exam, vit K and eye ointment, etc.) for an hour or two.

Delay newborn procedures!
🌵 Prioritize skin to skin
🌵 Weighing, measuring, exam, vitamin K, eye ointment...these can all wait an hour or two.
🌵 In addition, if the birthing person received IV fluids during the birth, the baby's weight will be artificially increased until the baby's had a chance to urinate some of the excess out. An artificially increased weight may also lead to concerns about the infant's 'excessive' weight loss in the first 24 hours, which may just be IV fluids making it's way out.
🌵 Consider delaying the first bath for at least 12 hours or so.

🌵 Do your research. Talk to your medical care provider. Make informed decisions.

So much of birth is unpredictable. Learn as much as you can before your baby arrives.

Full Transcript:

Hello, and welcome to episode 10 of your free weekly Brave Journey birth preparation videos. I am Cara Lee. I'm gonna adjust this camera a little bit. I am Cara Lee and I'm a birth doula, a childbirth educator, and a mom of two.

So today we're continuing a series on the first hours after birth. And some of the procedures that are done immediately, newborn care and newborn procedures. So today we're specifically talking about what's sometimes called the golden hour or that first hour or two after birth. And the importance of delaying any procedures that would remove the infant from skin to skin and delaying these procedures and examinations for at least an hour or two.

So three weeks ago, we talked about skin to skin. Two weeks ago, we talked about cord clamping. Last week, we talked about vitamin K and eye ointment. And this week will be about the golden hour right after birth and the benefits of delaying newborn procedures, at least an hour or two.

So before we dive into talking about delaying newborn procedures, if you're not already receiving these videos in your inbox, please go to bravejourney.com and give me your email address. And I will be sure to include you on a weekly newsletter where I'll send you a link to these videos. Other than that, I don't spam and you can have unsubscribe at any time if it's cluttering up your inbox. So, okay.

Just a note on my approach with this. And I mentioned this in my video about vitamin K and erythromycin that I do value including evidence and data and research in decision-making, but it is not the only thing that should be weighed when making a decision, especially a decision for your child. There are also other perspectives, like your own circumstances, the individual circumstances that you are in, as well as your own perspectives on risk. Every parent has a different perspective on risk.

So I do include a lot of evidence and research or references to what the data say, but you have to make your own choices based on your own individual circumstances and perspectives. So I just want to make that clear.

Okay. Onto our topic. Our video and topic today is actually quite straightforward. There are many good reasons to delay the newborn exam and any procedures that remove the baby from skin to skin.

So we've talked about the many benefits of immediate skin to skin for both the baby and the birthing person. I feel like every single one of these newborn care videos comes back to how beneficial skin is skin is for infants, birthing people, and breastfeeding.

So skin to skin, it helps with bonding and improves breastfeeding rates. It soothes both the birthing person and the infant helps the infant maintain their body temperature and healthy blood sugar levels. And there's so many positives.

Well, skin to skin isn't happening. If the infant is over on the warmer, receiving an exam from the nurse. There's all sorts of these procedures right after birth.

There's this exam usually right after birth or within the first few hours. So in this exam, the infant is weighed. The infant's length and head circumference are taken. They're generally just examined for their health and wellbeing. They're looking for marks on the body or any evidence of anything that might need a pediatrician to look at sooner than the standard time that a pediatrician comes to the hospital room or the. Or the infant is taken to a pediatrician.

They will then also apply the eye ointment and inject with vitamin K if the parent has given permission and occasionally they'll give the first bath as part of this first exam.

So all of these things can be delayed at least an hour or two. They really can without any negative impact.

I know that everybody wants to know the weight of their baby. There's this. There's this... this is a data piece that our culture is so into. It's so interesting that a baby's announcement also includes how much they weighed at birth. But it's, it is, it's a piece of data that everyone wants... and you can wait. You can just wait an hour or two because in order for the infant to be weighed, they are taken away from skin to skin.

Also, if the birthing person receives fluid at any point during the birth, then the infant also has excess fluid in their body, which will plump, artificially increase their weight. So waiting a couple of hours, we'll give that infant time to urinate out any excess fluid and will give a more accurate weight.

And this is also important because the weight of the baby at birth is compared with the weight of the baby within 24 hours. And if the infant has lost more than 10% of their body weight, then usually the medical care provider will suggest formula supplementation. But if the infant's weight was artificially increased because of fluids that the birthing person received through IV, then it's not an accurate weight.

So here's another reason for delaying the weighing measuring and everything because not only because it takes the infant away from skin to skin, but it also will give him more accurate weight. And a note on baths in particular. Um, in truth, the data show that there's no reason for the baby to be bathed at any point within the first, at least 12 hours, maybe longer.

The infant will experience a decrease in body temperature from the bath. No matter how warm the water is, the infant is inherently away from the birthing person and not skin the skin. If they're receiving a bath. And the decrease in body temperature and the impact of being separated can interfere with establishing breastfeeding during these early hours. Also, researchers think that preserving the vernix, that white waxy substance, that many infants are born with- preserving that vernix on the infant skin can protect the baby, protects their skin, and it helps them maintain their body temperature over the first hours. So a lot of people will rub that waxy substance into their infant and kind of massage it in like a lotion.

So all of that, to say that. All the procedures and the first bath can be delayed . So talk to your care provider, ask your doctor about the routine standard of care at your birthing facility.

Do they wait at least an hour or two to get uninterrupted skin to skin for the first hour or two before doing the newborn exam and newborn procedures? Do they routinely delay this or not?

If not, that might be a clue that your birthing facility is not following evidence-based practices. And that the routine standard of care your birthing facility is not what's considered baby friendly, which is an international designation, and it might be a clue that it's time for you to go shopping for another medical team to help you have your baby. To be blunt.

I will never stop saying that your birthing team will have as much or more impact on your birth than any education or preparation work you can do. So just being real. Let's see. Okay.

That's all for today. I said today was pretty straight forward. Thank you so much for watching. Again, if you'd like these videos sent to your inbox, you can go to bravejourney.com and sign up there.

I really appreciate you. Thank you.