Posts Tagged ‘newborn baby’s need’
Full term newborns have an inborn reflex to suck. They will do this after birth, but not because they are hungry. Most full-term babies have packed on a layer of fat and water in preparation for birth. Their birth weight can be deceptive, particularly if you had a lot of fluids during labor. Some of that fluid will come off, so your baby will lose some weight—up to 10 percent of his newborn weight. You don’t need to worry. In fact, after an earthquake in Mexico that demolished a maternity hospital, one newborn was found alive after eight days under the rubble. Newborns typically lose between 5 and 10 percent of their birth weight during the days after birth, then begin to gain again. By the end of two weeks, most of them are back to their birth weight or close to it.