Postnatal care and looking after a newborn

Find helpful information and guidance on looking after a newborn baby and postnatal care for mothers.

Welcome to the ‘fourth trimester’.

This is a time when your body returns to pre pregnancy and your baby grows and you get acquainted with behaviour, patterns and needs of your baby(ies). It is a time of new discoveries but also tiredness and changes in your life and lifestyle. Additionally, you may need to recover from your birth, regardless of the method or have follow up care for problems in pregnancy, labour and birth including diabetes, pre-eclampsia, perineal tearing, caesarean section, haemorrhage with birth and if your baby is small, jaundiced or has other early problems these may also require follow up care.

The newborn days are busy, but remember that help is always available for you and your baby.

Overview

Looking after a newborn baby

The first week after birth

A guide to bathing your baby

A guide to breastfeeding

How lactation works

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