ABSTRACT

This chapter is a step-by-step guide to the first examination of the newborn. It will take the practitioner systematically through the process and introduce the principles of neonatal examination. It will focus on the normal expected findings and also describe the abnormal findings that may be detected. It is through anticipation of the normal that deviations are detected, and this is the philosophy of the examination described in this chapter. This chapter will describe five steps: preparation, observation, examination,

explanation and documentation (Table 6.1). The management of abnormalities will be described in Chapter 7.