Neonatal Assessment Flashcards
How to prepare for a neonatal assessment?
Things you need: - Permission from mum - Hand washing - Warmth - Good lighting Good documentation must be made from a neonatal assessment and there should be good discussion with the parents about what your doing and your findings. This discussion must also be documented
What approach is used in the neonatal assessment?
Top to toe approach is used you assess the following: Head Ears Eyes Nose Torso Arms and hands Legs and feet Anus and rectum Back Cord Hips Skin tags
What 6 things do you asses when your assessing the babies head?
- Moulding
- Shape and symmetry
- Fontanelles
- Caput succeddaneum
- Cephalhaematoma
- Lesions / peeling
What 3 things do you assess on the babies ears?
- How many
- In line
- Patent
What five things do we asses on babies eyes?
- Present
- In line
- Close together
- Colour of sclera (white part of the eye)
- Discharge?
What is the one thing we asses on the babies nose?
- Absence of nasal flaring
What are the 4 things we assessing on/ in the mouth of the baby?
- Teeth
- Pallet intact?
- Suck and swallow reflex
- Frenulum ( tongue tie).
What do we assess on the babies torso?
- Check shoulders, neck, shoulders, and clavicles for birth injury
What three things do we assess on the babies arms and hands?
- Count fingers
- Palmer creases
- Grasp reflex
What 5 things do assess on the legs and feet of a baby?
- Check movement
- Symmetry
- Count toes
- Babinski reflex
- Grasp reflex
What 2 things do we assess of a babies anus and rectum?
- Check for potency and position
- Sacral dimple
What doe we assess on the babies back?
- Straight spine
- Neural tube defects (NTD)
What do we assess for on the cord?
- Secure
- Drying
What do we assess on the hips?
This isn’t part of the initial examination
But you check for full rang of movement
During the check what is the one thing you are consistently looking out for?
Skin tags can occur anywhere
What do we assess when checking the male genitalia of a baby?
Scrotal size/ testes should be palpated (they feel like a pea)
- Urethral opening
Check for :
Hypopspadia - opening on the undersurface
Epispadia - opening above the surface
Surgical correction is recruited for both hypopspadia and epispadia
What do we assess when checking the female genitalia?
- Labia Majora covers the Labia minora
Sometimes there is a small blood loss as the maternal hormones diminish.
What is a Caput?
- These are caused by pressure
- present at birth
- contains fluid
- feels soft spongy and pits on pressure
- crosses suture lines
- above the periosteum (membrane that covers bones)
- no treatment is required
What is a cephalhaematoma?
- these are caused by friction
- contain blood and occur after birth
- feel firm and don’t pit under pressure
- these do not cross the suture lines
- occur below the periostium (membrane that covers bones)
- this may contribute to jaundice
- there is no treatment
What measurements are taken in the neonatal assessment?
The baby is weighed
Head circumference is taken
And the length is taken
