| As your baby is born, the midwife will judge its condition and if all is well, she will give the baby to you. Be warned this will not be the ''TV'' version, but the real thing, so he/she will not necessarily look clean, pink and content, but rather bloody, blue and wrinkled. It is essential that your baby cries at birth to initiate breathing. Babies tend to wail, are a funny grey/blue colour and covered in either a white greasy cream (vernix) or blood from the delivery. At one minute the midwife (or paediatrican ) will do ''apgar scoring'' which through observation of baby''s tone, breathing, heart rate, response and colour will suggest how well they have coped with the birth. This observation is carried out again at five minutes and deciding if your baby needs any further assistance will depend on these scores. If all is well, your baby will stay with you in your arms while the midwife delivers your placenta and puts in stitches (sutures) if this is necessary. There are checks that need to be done but they can wait until you''ve been sorted out. |
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