Ways to Protect Your Newborn’s Senses

SENSE	DESCRIPTION	YOUR PROTECTION
Vision	Your newborn is extremely sensitive to light and glare. He can focus only about 9 to 12 inches from his face.	Make sure your baby isn’t placed under lights without eye shields. Delay putting ointments or drops in his eyes for at least an hour or more, until your baby’s had time to rest on your chest, and you’ve had time to establish eye-to-eye contact. Allow the baby adequate time to make his way to your breast to start nursing.
Hearing	Your baby may be startled and distressed by loud talking and noises. He is already attuned and soothed by your voice and the rhythm of your speech.	Ask everyone to be quiet or whisper while your baby is being born and you are greeting and nursing him for the first time. Soften your voice and use it to call your baby by name and to talk to him.
Touch	Your baby’s waterborne skin is extremely sensitive to touch.	Before the baby is taken to the nursery for the first bath, ask to have him placed next to your skin under a blanket, and gently rub the protective, germ-killing vernix directly into his skin. Avoid touching the baby’s lips and cheeks except with your nipple.
Motion	Rapid or unexpected movements can distress your newborn and cause him to startle or grimace.	Slow down and carefully orchestrate how your baby is moved, while supporting his head and neck and helping him to round his back in the familiar posture he adopted while in the womb. Use swaddling and a cap on his head only after a prolonged phase of mother-baby skin-to-skin contact under a blanket.
Pain	Your baby has acute, whole-body reactions to invasive, painful procedures, such as suctioning, injections, and heel lancing.	Ask if your baby can forego suctioning if he is breathing normally. If your baby is to be circumcised, insist that an effective form of analgesia be given, plus pain-relief medication for the days that follow.