- Maternal hormones may cause enlarged breast and/or genitals of both baby girls and boys, a whitish vaginal discharge and/or a small amount of blood from a baby girl’s vagina. Do not be alarmed. This should resolve in 3-5 days.
- Sometimes in the first two weeks of life you may note a pinkish discoloration on the diaper after your baby urinates. Do not be alarmed; this is due to a harmless substance called urate. Sometimes this occurs when the urine is very concentrated so continue to encourage feedings.
- The first couple of days, baby’s stool will be thick, black and tarry. This is called meconium and should transition into normal stool by the end of the first week of life. Breastfed babies will have frequent yellow, seedy stools which may be watery. Formula fed babies tend to have less frequent stools and stool color can range from green to brown.
- Approximately 2 to 5% of term boys and 33% of premature boys are born with undescended testicles, cryptorchidism. The undescended testicle will naturally descend into the scrotum within the first three to six months of life. Hormone therapy or surgery may be necessary if testes have not descended by 1 year of age. Some physicians recommend treatment as early as 6 months of age.
- Male newborns may have extra fluid in their scrotum which is called a hydrocele and usually resolves without intervention within the first 6 months of life. There are two treatment options if required: aspiration, which is the removal of the excess fluid using a needle, or surgery.
- Inguinal hernias occur when the intestine or another organ (e.g. ovary) protrudes through a weakened muscle wall in the groin area. Occurs in both female and male babies, however, there is a higher incidence in male babies. Approximately 3-5 % of term babies and 9-11% of premature babies are born with inguinal hernias. Incarceration and strangulation of the hernia is the most common complication. Incarceration occurs when the intestines get stuck and cannot be pushed back into the abdominal cavity. This is a very rare event, but is very dangerous because the bowel may lose blood supply (strangulation), and begin to die. Surgical treatment is required for inguinal hernias.
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