The sweet image of full on family love after a baby is born is not always how it happens. There is still a lot going on!

Right after your baby is born, you might need a minute! It's fairly normal for a birth parent to take a few moments, or a few minutes to soak in what just happened and be ready to receive the baby. During this time, if the baby is doing well, it will be on the birth parent's abdomen.

If the baby needs additional support then, the cord may be quickly clamped and cut, and the baby taken to a warming table where there are special tools for the nurses or midwives to use to help get the baby ready to go back with family. Once in a while a baby needs a little bit of help taking their first breath. It's not fun to wait while that is happening. Parents can talk to their baby during this time, encouraging them and letting them know you are ready to hold them. 

Your baby might look a bit different than you imagined. 

Really?

Yes, some babies are born with enlarged genitals, vernix (a little or a lot of white cream on their body), lanugo (baby body hair), an elongated head, and/or fog legs. 

These things can be surprising but go away within a few hours, or a few days after the birth. If you have any questions it's a good idea to ask your care provider. If you have any questions you can ask your provider:

"Is that normal?" 

This will prompt your provider to give you brief info that will help soothe your nerves. 

Uterine Cramps after Birth

Once a baby is born the uterus still has work to do. This means that a person who just delivered a baby will continue to have contractions after the baby comes out, just when they want to rest. The contractions are helpful and need to happen because if they don't there can be too much bleeding from the area where the placenta was embedded into the uterus. The contractions of the uterus can be mild, or a bit painful. To ensure the uterus is continuing to do the job of tightening, providers will rub on the abdomen, feeling to see if the uterus is soft (less good) or firm (desired). Some providers check this with tenderness and grace, while others are less sensitive, most of the time it is not delightful and coping techniques such as breathing, distraction, or vocalization can help someone during this time. Note that some providers say "I'm going to massage your uterus." I can tell you that it normally does not feel pleasurable and I think it is better to think about it as someone pressing down to feel and rub the uterus. 

 Learn more about different ways providers manage bleeding after birth. https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-pitocin-during-the-third-stage-of-labor/

What Babies Need

The first 10-20 minutes after a baby is born are quite remarkable. A baby will grow-up and look different in that short amount of time. New parents can watch their baby change right before their eyes! In the first minutes of life a baby needs very little. They need to breathe and be warm. Most of the time babies are skin-to-skin on their birth parent, touched, talked to, and admired. Eventually they will signal that they are ready for their first meal by rooting around and looking for something to suck on. It is hard to believe, but they really do know what to do! As the birth parent is receiving care and possible examination and repairs from care providers, they can, at the same time be soaking in their new born baby. 

Learn More

Lanugo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanugo

Vernix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernix_caseosa