Regardless of whether labor is long or short, whether it is hard or easy whether a baby is born vaginally or by cesarean, most parents recall the first hours and days after birth as crystal-clear images surrounded by haze. It is in this haze that you first take in your baby and make a giant leap from pregnancy to parenting.

The baby comes out of the warmth and comfort of womb and is born wet and naked. The doctor or nurse will immediately dry the baby and cover him effectively.

Before handling over to family members,the baby should be worn a full-sleeved frock,cap,diaper and socks. He should be wrapped in cotton sheet in summer and woolen blanket in winter. When baby is of normal weight and he did not have any problems at the time of birth,he should be roomed-in along with the mother and nursed next to her. Such a baby even when born by cesarean section should not be kept in the nursery.

This early contact between you and your baby is important. It builds up bonding between you and your baby and boosts your lactation. It also enables the baby to recover from the stress of birth much faster.

But when a baby is extremely small in size(<2kg or <41/2 lbs)or very premature(<35 weeks of pregnancy) or have some difficulty in establishing spontaneous breathing at birth or mother had additional high risk factors(like toxemia of pregnancy,bleeding ,Rh-negative blood type etc.), the baby is transferred to the nursery for providing specialized care.