Whether babe was born at home, at a birth center or in a hospital, heath care providers will want to exam your baby. After bonding with your baby, referred to as the golden hour, the midwife or nurse will then conduct the bulk of the newborn baby exam.

Newborn exams that are done immediately after birth

The Apgar test.

This assessment is like a gentle check-up for your newborn! It’s done at one and five minutes after birth and it measures important things like the baby’s heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and skin color. Each area gets a score from zero to two, adding up to a total score of 10. A score of 7, 8, or 9 is like a gold star and shows that your baby is healthy. If the score is less than 7, it’s okay – the assessment will be repeated every 5 minutes for up to 20 minutes. You can even do this while cradling your precious newborn.

Newborn exams that are done after the “golden hour”

After you’ve had your valuable golden hour with your baby, the midwife or nurse will carry on with the newborn exams, which is when they’ll take measurements.

The midwife or nurse takes baby’s weight.

They examine muscle tone and conduct detailed checks of skin color.

The baby’s posture is assessed, including how they hold their arms and legs, how far their hands can flex, how much their arms recoil, how far their knees extend, and how far their elbows can move across their chest.

The nurse or midwife will examine your baby’s mouth to evaluate the strength and coordination of the sucking reflex. They will also palpate the hard and soft palate for any clefts and feel the gums for teeth or cysts.

Finally, the baby receives antibiotic eye ointment and a vitamin K shot, both of which are optional. I hope this was helpful in learning what a newborn baby exam entails. Check back again soon for more “ask your doula” topics.

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