With a newborn at home your heart is filled with an abundance of happiness and joy.
Of course, as most parents will confirm, taking care of a newborn can feel pretty daunting at first. It’s a job that requires patience, vigilance, and preparedness, as well as awareness of developmental milestone, your child’s individual progress, and often many visits, some routine, some not, to your pediatric clinic in Dubai.
Looking after the well-being of your newborn, as the best pediatricians in Dubai will tell you, starts with keeping track of key developmental milestones and what corresponding health screenings and evaluations need to be completed with each one.
Let’s start with the first, and potentially the most important, year of a newborn’s life. If you are a parent to a newborn, keep on reading to find out about pediatrics in Dubai, including what growth signs start emerging at what stage and which health checkups are required when.
And don’t worry. As one of the best pediatric clinics in Dubai, we’re simply a phone call away .
After Birth
Your bundle of joy probably came out puffy eyed and slightly wrinkled and that is to be expected, as they just spent 9 weeks cramped up inside a womb! Immediately after birth, usually in the first week, these will start to disappear. In this time, babies will also typically develop the ability to briefly lift their heads and start exhibiting some built-in newborn reflexes such as the sucking reflex and the rooting reflex.
Within the first week is when the first health screening is conducted by a doctor of pediatrics in Dubai, so it’s time to consider some of the pediatric clinics in Dubai. This health screening will include some sensory tests including a hearing screening and vision screening.
As one of the best pediatricians in Dubai, Dr. Medhat at myPediaclinic recommends all new parents to get their child vaccinated for hepatitis B and receive additional, necessary immunizations within the first week of birth as well.
Between 1-8 weeks
By the second month of their life, your cute newborn will have developed good hearing ability, will be able to make jerky arm movements, will keep their hands in tight fists, and start recognizing sounds including their parents’ baby voice.
In the beginning of this period, your pediatric clinic in Dubai will be able to advise you on how best to take care of your baby, how to go about feeding them, and how to adjust to life as a new parent (it can be a tough one!). During this time, your baby will have to go through several tests and developmental screening, so it helps to visit the best pediatrician in Dubai.
The best pediatricians in Dubai know which screenings and tests to conduct to accurately gauge and monitor your child’s growth and check for common conditions that may have developed and need treatment. Additional hearing and vision screenings are also conducted at this stage. At some pediatric clinics in Dubai, such as myPediaclinic, you can get a thorough developmental screening for your child, which gives parents insight into how their baby’s height, weight, and head circumference growth compares with that of the average baby.
It’s also toward the end of this period when a doctor of pediatrics in Dubai will suggest 2-month vaccinations are administered.
Between 2 to 9 months
In the first half of this period, most babies can raise their head and chest and support their upper body with their arms when lying on their stomach. They can open and shut their hands, grab things, focus on and follow moving objects with their eyes, develop hand-eye coordination, and begin to babble. By the end of this period, you will have a smiling baby that can sit up, roll over, respond to their own name, develop full-color vision, and reach for objects themselves.
It is key to keep in touch with your pediatrician during this time and visit a pediatric clinic in Dubai for routine checkups and screenings. As one of the best pediatric clinics in Dubai, myPediaclinic keeps a close eye on your baby’s weight and growth as well vision and hearing development. At the 4-month mark, we recommend parents to have the second round of immunizations administered to their baby and have the third round administered at the 6-month mark.
Additionally, it’s important to get a tympanometry as well as a speech evaluation carried out for your baby by an experienced pediatrician in Dubai. Discover more about one of the best pediatricians in Dubai, Dr. Medhat, at myPediaclinic.
The One-Year Mark
By their first birthday, you should start babyproofing your house as you’ll have a crawling baby that can stand up, sit without assistance, imitate some words, say ‘dada’ or ‘mama’ (depending on which parent gets lucky!) and begin exploring and using different objects in different ways.
12-month vaccinations are recommended and you should pop into your pediatric clinic in Dubai for a routine checkup where you can get an earwax removal for your 1-year-old and get them a routine blood screening as well.
Many parents at myPediaclinic also opt for autism screening for their child within the first year and many doctors of pediatrics in Dubai may recommend this.
From then onwards, it’s always a good idea to get routine child health checkups and consult your pediatrician on how best to look after the well-being of your newborn turned infant.
Being a parent will be a long and rewarding ride, and with the best pediatrician in Dubai in your corner, you can feel secure in the knowledge that you and your family are in safe hands.
Book an appointment at a preferred pediatric clinic in Dubai to ensure the best pediatrics care in Dubai for your newborn.
Sources:
https://www.marchofdimes.org/baby/developmental-milestones-for-baby.aspx
https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/month-by-month/week-7.aspx
https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/health-checks-for-babies
