This is a white, cheesy, waterproof substance that protects your baby’s skin in the womb. A provider dries your baby to help keep him from getting cold. When a baby’s born, he’s wet from the amniotic fluid in the womb. Your baby can easily become cold after birth.
Most providers wait at least 30 to 60 seconds after birth to let the blood from your placenta flow into your baby before clamping the cord. Your baby’s provider or your labor partner can clamp and cut the cord. Now that your baby’s born, she no longer needs the umbilical cord. It carried food and oxygen from the placenta to your baby. The umbilical cord connected your baby to the placenta in the womb. A c-section (also called cesarean birth) is surgery in which your baby is born through a cut that your doctor makes in your belly and uterus.Ĭlamp and cut the umbilical cord. Some babies, like premature babies (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and babies born by c-section, may have trouble breathing after birth and need extra help from their health care providers. She may just take some quiet first breaths. Crying at birth is normal and helps your baby get rid of any extra fluid that may still be in her lungs, nose or mouth. He may rub your baby’s back to help her breathe deeply.
Your health care provider clears mucus from your baby’s nose and mouth to help your baby take her first breath. In the minutes after your baby is born, health care providers check him to make sure he’s healthy and stable. What kind of care does your baby get right after birth?