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May 2011 Moms
tokenhoser
member
It's strange to me when Canada has different baby advice.
tokenhoser
member
I mean, you wouldn't think much would be different.
The immunization schedule is definitely different - no vaccines are given in hospital. Hep B isn't given until Grade 6 here.
Circumcisions also aren't performed in hospital, they all are done as outpatient procedures a few days or weeks later. And they're not paid for by insurance, so numbers are now down to <30%. We're not planning to bother, and it seems we're in the majority.
We aren't told not to bathe them before the cord falls off. The nurses use a bathtub and water in the hospital.
The other surprise to me was the requirement to use sterile water for formula until the baby is 6 months old. I don't plan to use formula, but I've never heard such a thing before. Perhaps I wasn't paying attention?
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Re: It's strange to me when Canada has different baby advice.
DS was circumsized about three weeks after he was born, and his pediatrician did it at the doctors office. It was paid for by insurance though.
DS had a hard time latching on, so I had to pump and supplement with formula. We were told to use sterile water. They didn't tell us only until six months, so we used it the whole year.
We do the vitamin K and the eye ointment (the same), but I swear they go on about giving babies Hep B vaccinations.
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It may vary province to province too... When I was in grade 6 we were the first year to receive the vaccine, but they've added it to the infant schedule in BC.
Do you go to the Health Unit for vaccines in Sask? or does your Doc do them?
I don't know much about vaccine's so I can comment on that.
Circumcision, while done in the hospital is not covered for us, but we would still pay for it we were having a boy. It's all over the map around here, literally, with some parts of the country as low as 20% and some as high and 80%.
I was told not to bathe her until the cord falls off. Warm washcloth only.
I know people who choose to use sterile water, but most people I know use tap water these days. If we have to FF, LO will get water from the tap just like DH and I. If we go to visit in-laws, we will bring water. They live in the country and are on a well, the water is just terrible, even I won't drink it, so I wouldn't make her.
Doesn't sound all that different?? And I think not matter what country you are in, each doctor is going to have VERY different advice.
My DS was given a bath in the hospital, and we bathed him at home before the stump fell off. No one told us otherwise- in fact, they had a "bathing class" at the hospital that was offered during my stay, but we declined.
Also, no one (my pedi included) ever instructed us to use sterile water for mixing formula. In this day and age, with high quality city water, it is not a concern.
My DS was given a bath in the hospital, and we bathed him at home before the stump fell off. No one told us otherwise- in fact, they had a "bathing class" at the hospital that was offered during my stay, but we declined.
Also, no one (my pedi included) ever instructed us to use sterile water for mixing formula. In this day and age, with high quality city water, it is not a concern.
Well Canadian babies are made differently from American babies, so of course you would have different rules.
But seriously, I think this kind of thing shows how much the medical guidelines we follow are subjective. A lot of them are not based on any hard science, but on tradition and people's opinions. Just like some OBs will induce at 41 weeks, some at 42 weeks, etc.
It's not just Canada. I was reading Baby Talk or some other baby mag and they had an article about baby advice differences around the world. Australia also bathes in tubs as soon as they are born. That was the only one I can recall off the top of my head, lol.
I think that's a big thing to remember - tradition isn't gospel, and if something seems like it's not that important... it's probably actually not that important.
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This is especially true for your hospital stay. I hear the average stay at most hospitals in the US after birth are 24-48 hours, while in most of Europe, its 6.