Newborn Articles

Newborn articles for parents, doulas, lactation consultants, and other perinatal care providers.

What Is a Newborn Screening: Understand Your Baby's Test

You may be holding your baby, trying to feed, trying to rest, and trying to make sense of a lot of new words all at once. Then someone mentions newborn screening. Many parents wonder what this means and if they should be worried. It's a common experience.Parents often hear about it in passing, right alongside diaper checks, feeding logs, and discharge papers. That can make it sound like just another hospital task. It isn't scary, and it also isn't meaningless. It's one of the routine ways care teams look for hidden health problems early, before a baby seems sick.Your Baby's...

​ Postpartum Sleep Deprivation: A Survival Guide for Parents

It's 3 AM. The baby finally settled, but now your body feels wired, your mind won't slow down, and you're staring at the ceiling trying to decide whether to wash bottles, pump, scroll, cry, or sleep.A lot of new parents land here. You can be profoundly grateful for your baby and still feel wrecked by the nights. You can have help and still feel alone. You can be “getting some sleep” and still feel like your brain and body are running on fumes.That experience has a name. Postpartum sleep deprivation. Not as a dramatic label, but as a very real...

Gas in Newborns: Relief, Causes, and When to Call Doctor

Your baby finally dozes off after a feed, then wakes with a grunt, pulls their knees up, turns red, and looks miserable. A minute later they pass gas, settle briefly, and then start the whole cycle again. If you're in that stretch right now, you're not missing something obvious and you're not causing it.Gas in newborns is one of the most common early baby concerns. It can look dramatic, especially at night, but in many babies it's part of normal development. The more helpful question usually isn't “What's wrong?” It's “How do we make this phase easier while their body...

Effective Diaper Rash Prevention

You notice it during a diaper change you've done a hundred times already. The skin looks a little pink, maybe warmer than usual, and suddenly you're wondering if you missed something.You probably didn't. Diaper rash is common, and it often starts fast.What helps most is not panic and not buying five random creams. It's a steady routine that protects the skin before it gets angry, plus a plan that other caregivers can follow too. That matters a lot in real homes, where a postpartum doula, lactation consultant, partner, grandparent, or night nanny may all be helping at different times of...

What Is a Primary Caregiver?

You might be seeing the term primary caregiver on leave paperwork, intake forms, insurance documents, or in conversations about postpartum help, and wondering what it means for your family.That confusion makes sense. Most explanations online talk about elder care or custody disputes, not the new-parent questions like, “If I hire a doula, am I still the primary caregiver?” or “If my partner does nights, who counts?”Caregiving is already a huge part of family life in the U.S. In any given year, 65.7 million Americans, or 29 percent of the adult U.S. population, serve as family caregivers according to the Family...

Learn infant CPR classes: Essential skills for protecting your baby

An infant CPR class gives parents and caregivers the confidence and skills to act decisively in a life-threatening emergency, like choking or if your baby suddenly becomes unresponsive. Taking a class is a powerful, loving way to protect your child, moving you from a place of fear to one of preparedness.Why Infant CPR Is an Essential Skill for ParentsBringing a new baby home is filled with joy, but it also introduces a whole new level of responsibility. Learning CPR isn’t about dwelling on worst-case scenarios. It’s about being ready for anything. In those first critical moments of an emergency, the...

How long does cluster feeding last?

When you're in the thick of it, the only question that really matters is, "How long does cluster feeding last?" Thankfully, while it feels like it might go on forever, an individual cluster feeding episode is usually a short-term sprint. It typically only lasts for 1 to 3 days at a time.It's an intense, exhausting, but completely normal phase with a very important job to do.What to Expect from Cluster Feeding DurationCluster feeding often feels like it comes out of nowhere. One minute, you think you’re getting into a rhythm, and the next, your baby wants to be latched on...

How to Make Burp Cloths?

Making your own burp cloths is a simple and rewarding sewing project. At its core, you're just layering a soft, pretty fabric with an absorbent one, stitching them together, and turning them right side out. Using common materials like cotton and terry cloth, you can create something that's both deeply personal and incredibly practical for your new baby.Why Make Your Own Burp ClothsBefore we jump into the sewing machine specifics, let's talk about why making your own burp cloths is such a fantastic project for expecting parents. It goes way beyond just saving a little bit of money. It’s really...

​What Is Elimination Communication?

So, you've probably heard the term "Elimination Communication" whispered in parenting groups or seen it pop up online. It might sound intense, like some kind of extreme, early potty training regimen. But let's clear the air.At its heart, Elimination Communication (EC) is much simpler and more intuitive than it sounds. Think of it less as "training" and more as a conversation with your baby. You learn to recognize their cues for needing to pee or poop, just like you learn their specific cries for hunger, sleep, or a cuddle.What Exactly Is Elimination Communication?EC is a gentle, responsive practice that can...

​Finding the Best Bottle Feeding Position for Your Baby

The best bottle feeding position is one that keeps your baby's head higher than their stomach, usually in a semi-upright hold. This simple adjustment helps prevent choking, reduces gas, and makes digestion much easier for your little one.Finding the right hold isn't about a single "perfect" position. It's about what works for you and your baby's unique needs.How We Evaluated Bottle Feeding PositionsEach position was judged against practical criteria parents care about during a real feed: airway alignment, how easy it is to keep the head and neck supported, whether the position helps the baby control milk flow, and how...