The questions people actually ask us.

Usually not. Five to fifteen days is typical and some take longer, particularly when the cord was thick. Keep it clean and dry, keep the nappy folded below it, and put nothing on it. Bring your baby in if there is redness spreading onto the belly, pus, a foul smell, bleeding that will not stop, or a fever. Full guide: umbilical cord care.

No. Hot compresses cause burns, and powders, ash, oils and herbal preparations are a leading cause of cord infection and newborn tetanus in Nigeria. The advice comes from love, but it is out of date and it is dangerous. Nothing goes on the cord unless a clinician named it — chlorhexidine gel, if you were given it.

Get them seen. Mild jaundice after day two or three is common and often settles, but jaundice on day one, jaundice that is deepening, jaundice reaching the palms and soles, or a baby who is sleepy and feeding poorly all need checking the same day. Untreated severe jaundice can cause permanent harm, and treating it is straightforward.

In your room, yes — for at least the first six months, it is protective. In your bed is different: it raises risk, and it is genuinely dangerous if either parent smokes, has drunk alcohol, has taken anything sedating, or is extremely exhausted, and on a sofa it is dangerous for anyone. Put your baby on the back to sleep, on a firm flat surface, with nothing soft around the head.

Yes. Newborns breathe fast for a stretch, pause for a few seconds, then resume. That pattern alone is normal. What is not normal is a pause over twenty seconds, going blue or floppy, grunting, the skin pulling in under the ribs, or a rate of 60 or more a minute when calm. You can count it here.

Count nappies, not millilitres. From day five, six or more heavy wet nappies in 24 hours and soft yellow stools mean enough is going in. Your baby should be feeding eight to twelve times a day, you should hear swallowing, and they should be back to birth weight by about two weeks. Growing and alert beats any number you could measure.

In the first two or three days you produce colostrum, a small amount of thick yellowish milk which is exactly what a newborn needs. Small is not the same as insufficient. Feed frequently, skin to skin; that is what brings the fuller milk in. If you are worried, come in and let someone watch a feed and check the latch rather than deciding at home.

Not before six months. Breast milk is around 87% water and adjusts to the weather. Water fills a small stomach, displaces milk, and carries a risk of infection. After six months, with solid food, yes — small amounts of safe water.

Around six months, when they can sit with support, hold their head steady and reach for food. Start with a soft smooth pap or mashed food once a day and build up. Enrich pap rather than serving it plain — add milk, groundnut, crayfish, soya or a mashed egg. Plain pap is mostly starch and is a common reason babies stop gaining well. Keep breastfeeding alongside.

Immediately if the child is under three months with any fever. Otherwise come in for a fever lasting more than two days, a fever with fast or difficult breathing, a rash, a stiff neck, a convulsion, repeated vomiting, refusal to drink, unusual drowsiness, or a child who is simply not themselves. In Nigeria every fever also needs malaria excluded rather than assumed either way.

Be cautious with that result. The Widal test, still widely used, produces a great many false positives and cannot on its own diagnose typhoid. Malaria should be confirmed by a proper blood test, not assumed. If you have been treated for "malaria and typhoid" repeatedly with no lasting improvement, come and let us look at it properly — something else is often going on.

Oral rehydration salts and zinc — that combination is what saves lives, not antibiotics, which are usually unnecessary and sometimes harmful. Keep breastfeeding and keep offering food. Come in urgently for blood in the stool, persistent vomiting, sunken eyes, no tears, no urine for hours, a sunken fontanelle, or a child who is floppy or unusually sleepy.

Not on your own. A nebuliser is a delivery device for prescribed medicine, not a treatment for coughs, and nebulising a child with pneumonia can create false reassurance while things worsen. Count the breathing first — here, and if it is fast or there is indrawing, come in. Guide: using a nebuliser.

As soon as you know. Early booking is what lets us find and treat the things that are easy early and hard late — anaemia, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, infection. You need a minimum of eight contacts across the pregnancy. Register for every pregnancy, however smooth the last one was. See the Safe Motherhood Pathway.

Anaemia in pregnancy is very common here and it matters — it affects your energy, your baby's growth, and how you cope with blood loss at delivery. It is treatable with iron, sometimes with other treatment, and needs rechecking rather than assuming the tablets worked. Take the iron with something citrus, not with tea, which blocks absorption.

Come in, the same day, every time. Reduced movements can be the only warning sign that a baby is unwell. Do not wait to see if it picks up tomorrow, do not drink something cold and count at home, and never feel you are being dramatic. This is exactly what the 24-hour line is for.

Usually yes, and most women do. It depends on your job, how the pregnancy is going, and how far along you are. Long road journeys in late pregnancy need thought, and airlines have their own cut-offs, typically around 36 weeks. Ask at an antenatal visit and get it in writing if your employer needs it.

Yes. Childhood vaccines are among the most studied medicines in existence and the diseases they prevent, measles, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, hepatitis B, are ones our own older clinicians remember watching children die of. Side effects are usually a sore arm, a mild fever or a grizzly day. Bring us whatever you have read; we would far rather answer it than have you decide alone.

No. You never restart a schedule — you pick up where it stopped, however long the gap. Bring the card, or come without it if it is lost, and we will work out a catch-up schedule.

Common and expected in the first day or two, it is the immune system responding. Keep them cool and feeding, and give paracetamol at the right dose for their weight if they are uncomfortable. Come in if the fever is high and persistent, if there is a lot of swelling or redness spreading, if they are inconsolable for hours, or if they seem unwell rather than simply miserable.

Please come and tell us. Postnatal depression and anxiety are common, under-recognised, and among the most treatable things we see. Feeling flat, tearful, detached, frightened or resentful does not make you a bad mother and it is not a spiritual failing. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, come today. See the mental health clinic.

It usually tails off over two to six weeks, going from red to brown to pale. Come in urgently for bleeding that soaks a pad in under an hour, large clots, a foul smell, fever, severe abdominal pain, or feeling faint. Also come for a headache with blurred vision or swelling, blood pressure problems can appear for the first time after delivery.

Good HMOs and primary NHIS are accepted, but plans differ enormously in what they actually cover — maternity and screening especially. Call or WhatsApp with your plan details and we will check before you travel, rather than you finding out at the desk. Payers on record are listed here.

Every screening package is published with its price. For consultations and treatment, ask when you book — you will be told the cost before anything is done. If a price you were quoted differs from this site, tell us; one of the two is wrong and we want to know which.