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Home › Articles › Newborn Health and Safety › Mom's Biggest Baby Worries

Mom's Biggest Baby Worries

The Top 5 Things New Moms Worry About

By Shannon McKelden

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Every new mom worries about her newborn's health or whether she'll know what to do in an emergency. It's perfectly normal. Worries come with the territory. You aren't alone. Whatever you worry about, some other moms have worried about it too. The following seem to be the top 5 new-mom worries.

1. What If My Baby Stops Breathing?

By far the biggest worry is that the baby will stop breathing or become a victim of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

"The only thing that really terrified me was SIDS," says Gwen Haynes, a mom from Bowie, Md. "Everything else seemed as if I could change a behavior or get help, but with SIDs there really isn't anything you can do."

Even the Back To Sleep Campaign, with its recommendations on reducing the SIDS risk, isn't always reassuring. "It still seemed as if ... for some reason your baby stopped breathing there would be nothing you could do about it unless you stayed awake all night," Haynes says.

Dr. Laura Jana, an Omaha, Neb., pediatrician and coauthor of Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005), admits it's normal to worry, but recommends new (and experienced) moms focus on the things they can control. She recommends the following:

  • Place Baby on his/her back to sleep.
  • Never smoke/allow smoking around Baby.
  • Place Baby on a firm, flat surface to sleep.
  • Remove all soft things such as loose bedding, pillows and stuffed toys from the sleep area.
  • Never place Baby on a sofa, waterbed, soft chair, pillow or bean bag. (Doesn't apply to sitting with Baby on a sofa, etc.)
  • Take special precautions when Baby is in your bed. "I generally recommend, as does the AAP, that the best approach is to have a co-sleeper next to the bed rather than have your baby in yours," Dr. Jana says.

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