Open Accessibility Menu
Hide

Baby Health

  • Baby's medical care begins immediately - Your baby will receive medical care within minutes after being born and again at the first office visit.
  • Your chosen pediatrician will guide you through the health care of your baby.
  • Bathing a baby: Stay focused on safety - Follow a few tried-and-true techniques for keeping baby comfortable and safe in the simple baths she needs just two or three times a week. Never leave your baby alone in the bath.
  • Chickenpox vaccine: Yes or no? - Vaccination can prevent most children from getting chickenpox.
  • Child coughing? Be alert for croup - Parents dread croup, a common childhood illness in which young children may have difficulty breathing. Call the doctor right away if you suspect croup.
  • Childhood illnesses: The ears have it - Ear infections are a very common illness among young children, especially babies.
  • Childhood viruses can cause problems - If you have been exposed to a childhood virus such as chickenpox, rubella or fifth disease and you don't know if you have been vaccinated or are immune, call the doctor right away.
  • Childproofing your home: Plan ahead to keep baby safe - There are many practical things you can do to make your home safe and ready for your baby. Although the list of things to do seems long, they're all important.
  • Colic: This, too, shall pass - You know your baby has colic when he cries for a few hours, for several days a week.
  • Don't wait: Vaccinate your newborn - To keep your child safe from disease, follow the recommended immunization schedule.
  • Every baby has a soft spot (or two) - Many parents worry about the soft spot at the top of baby's skull. Actually these soft spots helped ease your baby through birth and are helping his/her newborn brain grow while protecting his/her head.
  • Fever: Know when to call the doctor - If your baby is one month or younger and develops a rectal temperature of 100.4 F or more, call the doctor.
  • From asthma to eczema, allergies take many forms - In the United States over 35 million adults and children have allergy-related problems, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  • How to care for the umbilical cord - Umbilical cord care is easy. Keep the area clean and dry.
  • Infants can suffer constipation - If your baby is having fewer stools, the consistency is hard and dry, and the baby has pain, constipation may be the culprit.
  • Jaundice is a common condition in newborns - More than half of all normal, healthy babies develop some jaundice in the first days of life.
  • Learn how to take baby's temperature - Children under the age of 4 need to have their temperature taken rectally. Use a digital or traditional mercury thermometer designed for this purpose.
  • Milk and other food allergies can affect babies - Food allergies are not common, but you should take measures to identify and prevent them when you can.
  • Newborns breathe differently - Because of the fear of SIDS, parents can worry excessively about a newborn's breathing. Newborns simply have very characteristic breathing patterns.
  • Pacifiers comfort babies and are unlikely to cause problems - Experts say offering a pacifier to a baby has no harmful effects. However, pacifiers given early interfere with breastfeeding and are related to early weaning.
  • Preventing SIDS: Put baby to sleep on his back - Although the cause of SIDS remains unknown, research indicates that all healthy babies under 1 year of age should be placed on their back to sleep instead of on their stomach to reduce the risk of SIDS.
  • Skin conditions often ease as baby grows - Although some skin conditions can spell trouble for years, children usually outgrow a host of skin problems, from cradle cap to prickly heat rash.
  • Tests and procedures help keep baby healthy - Newborn babies are given an Apgar score within minutes of birth to assess their overall adjustment to life outside the womb. A number of other procedures are done to protect baby from eye infection and disease.
Related Locations