Chapter 14: The first few hours after the birth
Baby weighs more than 4 kilograms (9 pounds)
Watch all big babies carefully for the first 2 days. If they seem tired,
weak, or sick, they may not have enough sugar in the blood. See
page 254 and get medical help.
Some babies are big because their mothers had diabetes. These
babies may have problems with the amount of sugar in their
blood. Make sure these babies breastfeed often and stay warm.
Weighing a baby with a scale
If you have a scale, you can find out exactly how much a baby weighs.
(See page 445 for how to make your own scale.)
If you have a hanging scale, follow these steps:
1. Attach a cloth to the scale.
2. Adjust the scale so that it is at 0.
If there is no knob to adjust the scale,
write down how much the cloth
weighs (the number that the scale
is at when the cloth is attached).
Adjust the
scale to 0 or
weigh the
cloth.
3. P ut the naked baby into the cloth to
weigh him.
4. If you were able to adjust the scale, it
will tell you the weight of the baby.
If there is no knob to adjust the
scale, you must
subtract the
weight of the
cloth to find
out the weight
of the baby.
For example:
Baby and cloth together weigh
Cloth alone weighed
So baby alone weighs
3.25 kilograms
– 0.25 kilograms
3.00 kilograms
If you have a scale that you stand on, follow these steps:
1. Weigh yourself, and write down the weight.
2. Get off the scale.
3. G et back on the scale holding the baby without his clothes or
blankets. Write down the weight.
4. S ubtract your
weight from the
combined weight of
you and the baby.
For example:
You and baby together weigh 62 kilograms
You weighed
– 59 kilograms
So the baby alone weighs
3 kilograms
258
A Book for Midwives (2010)