Newborn Visits & Exams

Your newborn’s first pediatric exam at the hospital

After you deliver your baby at St. Charles Bend or Madras Family Birthing Center one of our pediatric providers will visit you and your newborn for a thorough examination. A complete physical assessment will make sure your baby is healthy and includes:

• The Apgar score – This is one of the first checks of your new baby’s health. Assigned in the first few minutes after birth, it helps identify babies who have difficulty breathing or have a problem that needs further care. We will check your baby at one minute and five minutes after birth for heart and respiratory rates, muscle tone, reflexes, and color.
• Newborn screening test – A special blood test for rare health conditions. While most babies do not have these conditions, finding them early can help your doctor provide effective treatment guidance and options.
• Birthweight is an important indicator of your newborn baby’s health. In the hospital, babies are weighed daily.
• Measurements such as head circumference, abdominal circumference and length.
• Vital signs including temperature, pulse, breathing rate.

All of these assessments help us learn about your baby’s well-being at birth so we can provide the best care possible.

Your baby’s first pediatric office visit

Once you’ve settled into new parenthood, we’ll want to see you and your baby in our office within 3 to 5 days of delivery. At this first well-child visit, your provider will answer any questions or concerns you have as well as perform a complete physical examination that includes:

• Taking measurements and recording your baby’s weight
• Checking to see how the umbilical stump is healing
• Looking for newborn jaundice

We will also check for early developmental milestones such as rooting and sucking reflexes.