Health Library

Newborn Babies: Getting Ready at Home

Newborns need just some basic items at first. These include a warm and safe place to sleep, food, clothing, and diapers. Here's a helpful guide to the essentials.

Newborn Care in the Delivery Room

The birth of a baby is one of life's most wondrous moments. Few experiences compare to this event. Newborn babies have amazing abilities. Yet they depend on others for feeding, warmth, and comfort.

Newborn Complications

Detailed information on the most common types of newborn complications

Newborn Crying

Crying is the way babies communicate. They cry because of hunger, discomfort, frustration, tiredness, and even loneliness.

Newborn Health Assessment

Detailed information on newborn health assessments

Newborn Measurements

Your newborn will be weighed in the hospital and at all check-ups. This chart will help you convert the metric unit grams (g) to pounds (lb) and ounces (oz).

Newborn Metabolic Screening

Because some potential problems aren't readily seen at birth, all newborns are tested for certain conditions, including metabolic disorders.

Newborn Screening Tests

A national program exists to screen all newborns for certain disorders in the first few days of life.

Newborn Senses

Babies are born with all five senses--sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Some of the senses are not fully developed.

Newborn Sleep Patterns

New parents are often unsure how long and how often a newborn should sleep. Read on to learn about general newborn sleep patterns, the quiet alert phases, and how to help your baby fall asleep.

Newborn Warning Signs

Most newborns adjust well to the outside world. But it's helpful to know about these warning signs that could indicate a possible problem.

Nightmares and Night Terrors

A night terror is a partial waking from sleep with behaviors such as screaming, kicking, panic, sleep walking, thrashing, or mumbling.