The first 24 hours of the baby not only include the love and enthusiasm of that family that receives the new member, but also encompasses a battery of routine procedures that include check-ups, vaccinations, studies and practices in pursuit of the health of that child or little girl.
“Birth is an event, a moment of great impact. The baby emerges from an aqueous environment, from being fed through the umbilical cord, from having a controlled temperature to an environment in which it no longer floats and must be supported, must cry out for food, regulate its body temperature and oxygenate its blood through of the lungs”, explained to Clarín Paula Díaz de Arcaya, sociologist and childcare provider (on Instagram, @paulapuericultora).
The specialist added that “this represents a great stress that can be increased or moderated depending on the behaviors that are taken.” This, she clarified, does not mean that checks have to be set aside, but “when and how they are carried out.”
Díaz de Arcaya, who is also a teacher at the Argentine Child Care Civil Association (on Instagram, @acadp_lactanciaycrianza), mentioned three unavoidable practices:
The child is born covered in a greasy layer of fat and cells called vernix caseosa, which protects it from permanent contact with amniotic fluid and whose odor is similar to that secreted by the Montgomery glands in the mother’s breast, explained the childcare provider.
Therefore, it indicates that “the bath has no advantage (except in cases of some infection) and represents an invasion for the body of newborns”
“From the biological point of view, it is very important for the boy or girl to meet the mother’s breast as quickly as possible and without any unnecessary intervention,” said the specialist. Usually this hour is spoken of as sacred because of its great impact on a hormonal and behavioral level. After that activity, she added, it is possible that the baby enters a state of latency, of greater sleepiness.
Regarding food, Paula Díaz de Arcaya stated:
