Newborn Care Flashcards

What is the purpose of the vitamin K injection given to newborns at birth?

Answer: To prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding, which can cause life-threatening hemorrhage

Newborns have low vitamin K levels and cannot produce adequate amounts initially; the injection prevents vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB), which can cause serious or fatal hemorrhage.

What is the normal respiratory rate for a healthy newborn?

Answer: 40–60 breaths per minute

A healthy newborn breathes at 40–60 breaths per minute, which is significantly faster than the adult normal rate of 12–20 breaths per minute.

What does rooting reflex indicate in a newborn?

Answer: A hunger cue where the baby turns toward a touch on the cheek and opens its mouth

The rooting reflex causes newborns to turn their head toward stimulation of the cheek and open their mouth, helping them find the nipple to feed.

What is the purpose of the erythromycin eye ointment applied to newborns at birth in the US?

Answer: To prevent gonorrheal ophthalmia neonatorum, which can cause blindness

Erythromycin eye prophylaxis is given to prevent gonorrheal eye infection (ophthalmia neonatorum) that can be transmitted during birth and lead to blindness.

When should a childbirth educator advise parents to call their pediatrician about newborn jaundice?

Answer: If jaundice appears in the first 24 hours or the baby seems lethargic and not feeding well

Jaundice appearing within the first 24 hours is always pathologic and requires immediate evaluation; lethargy and poor feeding with jaundice also warrant urgent assessment.

What is meconium and what does it look like?

Answer: The baby's first stool, dark green to black and tar-like in consistency

Meconium is the sterile, dark greenish-black, tar-like first stool passed by a newborn, composed of amniotic fluid, mucus, and intestinal cells.