Heavy bleeding or passing of clots
Fever greater than 100.4
Abnormal smelling vaginal discharge
A hard or painful lump in your breasts
An area around the stitches that is red, hot or oozing
Pain, tenderness or warm area in your legs
Postpartum depression. If you feel helpless, hopeless, or unable to take care of yourself and your baby, seek professional help.
A severe headache that interferes with vision
Pain I the calves that doesn’t go away
Dizziness, chills, or fainting
Difficulty feeding. If your baby is feeding less than 8 times in 24 hours, contact the doctor
Contact your doctor if your baby’s umbilical area or penis suddenly becomes red or starts to bleed
Less than 6 diapers per day after the age of 5 days
No bowel movement in the first 48 hours at home
Blood in the stool
Jaundice. Yellow color in the eyes, chest, abdomen, arms, or legs.
Temperature greater than 100.4
Diarrhea
Vomiting. Occasional spitting up is normal. Vomiting occurs when the flow is forceful. Shooting out inches rather than dribbling from the mouth. Contact the doctor if your baby vomits forcefully after feedings or your baby has not been able to keep liquids down.
Breathing problems or a persistent cough
Rash
Inconsolable crying
Before taking your baby home from the hospital, install a rear-facing, infant-only safety seat in your vehicle.
As you child grows, you will need to adjust the safety seat. As a general rule, a child should only ride in a rear facing seat until age 2, or until they reach the seat’s upper weight or height limit.
Safety seats should always go in the vehicles’ back seat-never the front passenger seat, which is dangerously close to the airbag (If there is not backseat, such as in a pickup truck, make sure the airbag is deactivated).
Make sure the seat is properly installed-either secured tightly with the vehicle seat belt or using a lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) system.
Before using a seat for the first time, make sure you’ve read and understand all of the instructions.
Test the fit of the seat’s harness by pinching it at your child’s shoulders from top to bottom. If you can’t make a vertical fold in the harness, then it’s fitting correctly. Readjust the harness according to the thickness of your child’s clothing.
For more information about car safety seats, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has Car Seat Recommendations for Children to help make sure your child is in the right seat.
Julia Vanderwal PCT in OB is car seat certified and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. The number to reach her is 641-628-6613