Reasons for urgent consultation

The healthy newborn eats well and sucks well. He also has adequate muscle tone and cries loudly; he is alert, he pays attention (in the moments that he is awake) to the attentions that are offered to him. Any loss of this vitality characteristic of the newborn is a good reason to take him to an emergency department.

The reasons for urgent consultation in the newborn are listed below:

• Fever: all newborns should go immediately to the emergency room if their body temperature is greater than or equal to 38ºC. Keep in mind that fever in children under three months is an alarm sign and should always be evaluated by a Pediatrician because infections progress at these ages and can be easily complicated.
• Vomiting: if the newborn vomits everything he eats (we are not referring to the occasional small regurgitations of little volume of cut milk that barely moistens the face) it should be evaluated to study the reason for vomiting and prevent the child from becoming dehydrated.
• Jaundice: if the child has a yellowish color from the head to the ankles or soles of the feet (this can be observed if when pressing and releasing the skin it turns a yellowish color) it must be evaluated by a doctor.
• If the skin or mucous membranes turn blue (cyanosis) or are very pale.
• Rejection of feeding: it is one of the most frequent signs that shows that the newborn is not feeling well and, therefore, that it should be evaluated by a Pediatrician.
• If the newborn does not wake up easily and appears sleepy all day and clouded.
• Hypothermia: if the baby is very cold, it can be a sign of seriousness in some infectious processes (rectal temperature less than 35ºC).
• Tachypnea: if the newborn is observed to breathe very quickly.
• If the stool has mucus or blood.
• If the umbilical cord makes a bad smell or fluid or blood comes out.
• If there are any symptoms of loss of vitality: weak crying, clouding, no interaction with parents or weak sucking should be evaluated by a Pediatrician.

There is no doubt that in the case of the newborn and, in children in general, it is worth an extra visit to the Pediatrician than to regret having been too careful.