Mommy Glossary I- R

A Glossary for what parents should know especially for moms in the first year of parenthood.

Mommy Glossary I- R

Impetigo – A yellow crusted rash. Needs doctor’s treatment for a prompt cure. Very contagious.

Jaundice – Yellowing of the skin. Often happens in new-born babies.

Knock Knees – Many toddlers look knock-kneed. Real knock knees need medical attention.

Masturbation – Sexual pleasure obtained through handling genitals. A common harmless activity.

Meconium – A black, tarry substance that babies pass before the normal motions start appear a day or so after birth.

Milk Surplus – Usually a temporary phenomenon that passes after a few days.

Otitis media – An infection in the middle ear producing, in babies, a temperature, crying and diarrhoea and sickness.

Overweight – If a baby weighs persistently more than he should he is overweight and at extra risk because of this. Consult doctor about weight management.

Posseting – Sometimes confused with vomiting – this is a harmless and normal rejection of excess food through the mouth after feeding. Some babies posset more than others.

Postnatal Examination – An important procedure in which the doctor checks, when baby is about six weeks old, that womb and vigina are normal after childbirth. A smear test is taken routinely and contraception advice is given if required.

Pustules – Yellow spots that appear on a baby’s face quite soon after birth. They go away usually without treatment. See a doctor if they spread.

Reflexes – These automatic muscular responses indicate that the nervous system is working properly. Reflexes are tested at birth.

Rubella – The medical name for German measles.

Ruptures – See Hernia.

Mommy Glossary A- H

source: The First Year Book by Eric Trimmer