Medicine has a large number of areas, and each practitioner has its own specialization - the focus of activity. In such a variety it is sometimes difficult to understand, and about what the neonatologist is doing, who it is, what pathologies it treats, not everyone is aware.
Who is this and what does the neonatologist treat?
Such a medical section, like neontology, studies the physiological characteristics and pathological conditions of newborn children. In accordance with this, who is the pediatrician neonatologist, it is easy to guess: this doctor is engaged in the examination and treatment of the youngest patients, starting from the first minutes of their birth. This specialty appeared relatively recently, when neontology gradually began to separate from obstetrics and pediatrics.
Neonatologist and pediatrician - the difference
In fact, a pediatric neonatologist, as well as a pediatrician, is a pediatrician, but his specialization is more specific. In this case, you should specify how many months the neonatologist takes the children. The period of the newborn is the age of the infant from zero to the full twenty-eight days, during which the monitoring of the child's health is entrusted to this specialist. The pediatrician also begins to observe children from a month old.
What treats a neonatologist?
Whoever is a neonatologist and what he heals, every woman who carries a child should know. This doctor plays an exceptional role in the life of the little man who just appeared. During this period, when the child's living conditions change drastically, his body urgently needs adaptation to a new environment, a change in the type of breathing, a way of eating, and so on.
During the first month of life, all the organs and systems of the baby are reconstructed, and at that time various pathological abnormalities can be identified, including those that can threaten his normal life in the future. Given this, one can realize how responsible and subtle the work of the neonatologist is. This specialist should be able to correctly assess the health status of the baby, create favorable conditions for its proper development.
Considering that the neonatologist is treating, we should note that he simultaneously has to unite in his activity several specialties - surgeon, neurologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, gastroenterologist and so on. In this regard, the list of diseases, which diagnoses and treats this doctor, is diverse. Among them, one should single out the states that are on the border of norm and pathology, requiring close attention for timely correction:
- physiological jaundice ;
- hormonal crisis;
- albuminuria;
- transient hypoglycemia;
- transitional polycythemia;
- urine acid diathesis and others.
We list the main diseases and disorders that a specialist often has to face:
- thrush;
- stool disorders;
- blenorrhea;
- intertrigo ;
- phenylketonuria;
- umbilical hernia;
- hemolytic disease;
- hemorrhagic disease;
- endocrinopathy;
- congenital heart defects ;
- pilorospasm;
- birth trauma and many others.
Where does the neonatologist work?
About who it is - neonatologist, many women find out already in the maternity hospital during childbirth or after delivery. In addition, there is not only a full-time neonatologist in the hospital, these specialists work in the departments of the children's hospital in hospitals, in perinatal clinics, and less often receive admission in children's clinics. In some cases, when a child has health problems, a neonatologist can continue to monitor him for up to six months and even up to a year.
Obligations of a neonatologist
The profession of the neonatologist is the main task of examining, treating and nursing infants with any malformations, prematurely born, after a complicated delivery. The neonatologist-resuscitator in details owns all the necessary information in order to provide qualified planned, urgent and resuscitation assistance.
In addition to recommendations for the treatment of certain diseases of the baby, in the conditions of a polyclinic at a reception at a neonatologist, who has not yet learned it, can receive recommendations about:
- the main rules of care for the baby;
- the regime of the baby's day, his nutrition;
- the formation of lactation;
- schedules of vaccinations and so on.
Inspection from a neonatologist
In the first minutes after birth, a neonatologist's examination is to assess the level of health of a baby on the Apgar scale in order to decide how much he needs specialized care and care. Five criteria are applied for this: breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, heart rhythm, skin condition. These parameters are determined twice - immediately after birth and after five minutes. For preterm infants, the Silverman scale is used, which determines respiratory functions. In addition, the child is weighed, the growth is measured.
What does a neonatologist do?
The doctor himself or a nurse in the first 24 hours after birth make a blood sample from a newborn from the heel for further analysis on the blood group, the Rh factor, various infections. A few days later, a blood test is conducted for genetic diseases and for determining general clinical criteria. The newborn doctor diagnoses the baby's health by checking the main reflexes and examining such organs and parts of the body:
- belly - feel to determine the position and size of the spleen, liver;
- neck, collarbone, sternum, hip joints - to exclude birth injuries;
- muscle - their tone is assessed;
- head - it is determined whether there is edema, tumors, the size of the fontanel is set;
- light, heart - bugged through a phonendoscope;
- genitals - examination, palpation to detect possible malformations.
Neonatologist's advice
A few tips, which the neonatologist gives, will help the newly-made parents to successfully cope with their duties, and the baby is easier to adapt to the new environment:
- Many newborns in the first days after birth almost sleep soundly, which is a normal reaction, but we must not forget to regularly offer them a breast.
- The room where the child is located should be well ventilated, and the diapers, clothes, bedding should not interfere with the breathing of the crumbs.
- Due to the fact that the thermoregulation of the baby is poorly developed, it can not yet sweat and feel cold as adults, it is important to dress and cover it in accordance with the temperature of the room.
- Visits of guests should be postponed for several days or weeks, when the crumb will form a certain regime.
- The Kid is very sensitive to the emotional state of the mother, and for him it is important to feel the calm that comes from her, the confidence in her actions.