First examination of a healthy newborn Flashcards
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Neonatal Period (Full-Term Newborn)
Birth to 28 days
The gestational age of a full-term newborn
37 weeks - 41 weeks + 6 days
What is a Plesse scale?
A scale for assessing newborn morphological maturity
What is an APGAR score?
A score used to assess the vital functions of a newborn at 1 and 5 minutes after birth.
What is assessed using the APGAR scale?
Heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, skin color
Normal neonatal respiratory rate
30 - 60 breaths per minute
Signs of respiratory distress
Tachypnea, respiratory muscle retractions, grunting, nasal flaring
Normal heart rate
120-160 beats per minute
Signs of cardiac disfunction
Murmurs, diminished heart sounds, heart rate <100 beats per minute or >180 beats per minute
Meconium
The first stool (particles and substances that the fetus ingested while in the uterus) is usually passed only after 1-2 days, and less commonly after 3 days.
The newborn’s first urination
During the first 24 hours after birth, only 2, 3 of full-term newborns urinate. About 10% of newborns do not urinate until the second day.
Umbilical blood vessels
Two arteries and one vein
Neonate’s skin looks cyanotic, greyish. What would you do?
You should evaluate the baby for congenital heart disease, infection, respiratory distress, circulatory disfunction (evaluate capillary refill time (normal - <3 seconds), femoral pulses), polycythemia
On the first days after birth, when the newborn urinates, orange deposits are observed in the diaper. What is this?
The orange deposits in the diaper are likely urates, which are a normal byproduct of concentrated urine in newborns during the first days of life.
Neonatal mastopathy
Neonatal mastopathy refers to the swelling of the breast tissue (one or both sides) in newborns, without the surrounding tissue redness, which can occur in both male and female infants.
When would you take neonate’s blood for bilirubin concentration?
When jaundice appears before 24 hours of age, or there is clinically severe jaundice, or transcutaneous monitoring shows a bilirubin level higher than the permissible threshold (usually tested if >250 μmol, l)
What changes occur in the blood composition on the 4th-5th day after birth?
Neutrophils cross over with lymphocytes, and lymphocytes dominate until 4-5 months.
Neonatal milia
Keratin plugs in the stratum corneum due to fat retention in the glands
Erythema toxicum neonatorum
Small, firm, yellow pustules with redness on the face, body, and limbs
Mongolian spots
Grayish-blue spots on the buttocks, which may also appear on the trunk or limbs. This is an uneven distribution of pigment caused by melanocyte migration.
Cephalohematoma
A collection of blood beneath the periosteum that does not cross suture lines and may take days or weeks to resolve.
Barlow symptom
When the hip is flexed and the thigh is adducted, if the femoral head is felt slipping out of the acetabulum during adduction, this sign is positive.
Ortolani symptom
When the hip is flexed and the thigh is abducted, the femoral head is felt slipping back into the acetabulum.
