Newborn care · Free guides
Nobody is born knowing this.
Everyone will give you advice — your mother, your neighbour, the woman next to you at the market. Some of it is gold. Some of it is forty years out of date. These guides are what our own nurses would tell you, written plainly and drawn out step by step.
Go to hospital now, whatever else you were planning
These are the signs that do not wait for morning. If your baby has any of them, come straight in or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not drive yourself if you are alone with the baby and shaken, call someone.
- Not feeding, or feeding much less than usual
- Very sleepy, floppy, or hard to wake
- Fast or difficult breathing, grunting, or the skin pulling in under the ribs
- Fever, or cold to touch
- Convulsions or jerking
- Yellow skin or eyes in the first days
- Redness, pus or a bad smell around the cord
- Vomiting everything, or a swollen belly
Start here
If your baby is less than a month old, read cord care and counting breathing first. Those two cover the things most likely to go wrong quietly, and both are easy to get right once someone has actually shown you.
Umbilical cord care
Keep it clean, keep it dry, and know the four signs that mean come in today.
Read the guide InteractiveCounting your baby's breathing
A 60-second counter built into the page, with the numbers that mean fast breathing.
Count with me Every dayChanging a nappy
Six steps, animated, including the two that stop nappy rash before it starts.
Watch the steps Infection controlInfection control for new mums
Handwashing that actually works, who may hold the baby, and visitor rules nobody will be offended by.
Read the guide If prescribedUsing a nebuliser at home
How to set it up, how long it takes, how to clean it, and what it will not fix.
Read the guide Monthly themeEating well this month
A monthly theme built on food you can actually buy in an Abuja market.
This month's themeAlso for parents
Beyond the newborn weeks.
Back to school
What to check before term starts, what to put in the bag, and the illnesses that travel around a classroom.
Read moreAsk a question
A growing bank of real questions from Nigerian mums, with full answers.
Browse questionsSafe Motherhood
The clinical pathway — antenatal, delivery, newborn care and follow-up.
Read morePre-school health check
₦12,000 — for children starting or changing school.
See pricesYou can call the line at any hour.
If this is an emergency, do not message or book — come straight in, or go to the nearest emergency department. Do not drive yourself. Call +234 809 016 0175.