Arsenault - Newborn 101: secrets from expert nurses on preparing and caring for your baby at home

Praise for Newborn 101

Newborn 101 may look like your typical guide to pregnancy and baby care, but its not. Its better, filled with well-researched tips from a professional who is also an experienced mom, tips that you probably have not heard before.... A must-have!

baystateparent magazine

Newborn 101 is chock-full of the kind of practical and helpful information that only an insider like Carole Arsenault would know. This book contains everything a couple needs to prepare for the adventure of labor and birth.

CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, MD, author of Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom

The stack of books available on breastfeeding, pregnancy, and postpartum can be overwhelming. Carole Arsenault covers all these topics and then someincluding prenatal exercise and nutrition, choosing a pediatrician, raising a green baby, and more. The Q&A format and highlighted baby care tips make this book fun to read and easy to use. Im making Newborn 101 my number one must-read book for new parents!

TAMARA JESSIMAN, Certified Nurse Midwife, Mount Auburn Hospital

Birthing and caring for a baby is a transformative experience, and Newborn 101 helps new families make their way with confidence. Its highly readableand packed with insightful and helpful Q&As, lists, and tips.

JOHANNA MYERS MCCHESNEY, cofounder and CEO of Isis Parenting, Inc.

Testimonials

As a pediatrician, I figured having a baby would be a breeze. When I found out I was having twins, I was even more excited. However, the wealth of knowledge gained from studying pediatrics did not fully prepare me for the first few months as a new parent. Newborn 101 has been a valuable resource to our family: Its easy to read, has real-life tips on how to care for your baby, and gives practical advice on how to care for yourself during this difficult period. Most importantly to me as a practicing pediatrician, its up-to-date and evidence based. As a pediatrician and a mom of twins, I truly believe this is a must-read book and I recommend it to all my new parents. You will not be disappointed!

CARRIE D. STUCKEN, MD, FAAP, pediatrician, Pediatric Partners, and affiliate assistant professor of pediatrics, Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt School of Medicine

Newborns dont come with manuals! We get detailed instruction books when we buy a car, a cell phone and even a toaster, but not when we bring home a precious child. Newborn 101 is the manual we have been waiting for! This book guides new parents through the amazing yet often overwhelming experience of caring for a newborn. I only wish I had a copy when I had my first child!

PAULA J. MCEVOY, MD, pediatrician (and mother of four)

Newborn 101 remains an excellent resource for both new and experienced parents. It has been updated to include the latest information available, and Carole Arsenault provides enjoyable, easy-to-read, and nonjudgmental tips on caring for your baby!

CATHY CAILLOUETTE, pediatric nurse practitioner

newborn
101

Secrets from Expert Nurses on Preparing and Caring for Your Baby at Home

updated and expanded second edition

Carole Kramer Arsenault, rn, ibclc

Foreword by William Camann, MD
Director of Obstetric Anesthesiology, Brigham and Womens Hospital

This book is dedicated to my three children, Alex, Cam, and Caroline, and to my niece Emmie.

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.
Forest E. Witcraft

Patients encounter a wide variety of personnel when they go to a hospital or seek medical care. Physicians, nurses, various specialists, technicians, receptionists, security officers, parking attendants, and others will all be part of the experience. Each may lay claim to some particular knowledge or insight about what really goes on in the world of health care. And each indeed does have a particular perspective with which they see the medical world. Opinions vary as to who has the clearest viewbut its my belief that there is no greater vantage point than that of the nurse.

Thus, it gives me great pleasure to write this foreword to Newborn 101: Secrets from Expert Nurses on Preparing and Caring for Your Baby at Home. Pregnancy and childbirth is something most parents experience only once or just a few times. The experience can be daunting, challenging, and overwhelming, as new parents are often intimidated by their newborns and struggle over even the smallest decisions about their care. Yet professionals who work in the maternity environment see new parents on a daily basis. They know the joys, the problems, the concerns, and most importantly, the questions that are asked over and over again by new parents. In todays technology-laden world, new parents are exposed, perhaps even overexposed, to an ever-increasing volume of information from family, friends, acquaintances, books, magazines, websites, social media, and other resources. Moreover, in an environment of such information overload, many of the resources are presented with specific agendas, causing even more confusion. Just who can I trust?! is a common concern among new parents, and, for that matter, all health-care consumers. And, when all is said and done, it is often nurses who field the majority of questions from patients.

The critical role of nurses in health care is well recognized by many, including physicians. As doctors, we speak with and examine our patients, look at laboratory test results, X-rays, scans, and monitors, and seek out the advice of consultants. Yet any doctor will admit that there is no more valuable information than the nurses answer to a simple question such as How is the patient doing today?

I can think of no more uniquely qualified nurse than Carole Arsenault to help guide first-time parents through the information overload that defines new parenthood. I know Carole from almost two decades of working as colleagues in the labor and delivery unit at Bostons Brigham and Womens Hospital, one of the busiest maternity hospitals in the country. In addition to her extensive hands-on experience with women giving birth, Carole also has years of experience as the founder of Boston Baby Nurses, a Boston-area agency that helps parents though all aspects of preparing and caring for their newborns, providing education, lactation support, home care, and more. Carole and her team of skilled, seasoned nurses have seen it all, and Newborn 101 is a compilation of their knowledge. This book covers how to prepare your home before the birth, what will happen in the hospital during and immediately after birth, and how to adjust during the first months of life with your new baby. Written in a practical, easy-to-follow, and conversational tone, this useful manual is a must-read for new parents.

William Camann , md, is the director of obstetric anesthesiology at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston and the coauthor of Easy Labor: Every Womans Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth. Dr. Camann is also an associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and former president of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. An internationally recognized authority on obstetric anesthesia and pain control during childbirth, Dr. Camann has appeared on the