Do's and Don'ts of Meeting a New Mom and Baby

Blog Submitted by Gunika Sethi

Few years back when I wasn’t even married, I went to visit someone’s new born baby.I swear I don’t even remember whose it was but I just remember the little incident that happened because it left me thinking and contemplating.

I was probably working or would have may be just passed out from college and I had to visit someone’s new born along with my parents. Of course, we we’re excited to meet the new born but little did I know of things to be considered while
visiting a new born and hence I requested to hold the baby which was inexplicably frowned upon since I did not care to voluntarily sanitise my hands before picking up the baby. Yes, I was blissfully unaware, don't judge me!

And then to top it all, I wanted to take a selfie with the baby, who does that?
I did!!

Such a fool I was and the poor mother couldn’t help but quietly scream at me inside her hearts of hearts, and I felt the heat of the situation.

On a serious note, we all should know what all things should be considered while visiting a new born baby.

• The most important thing you should consider is calling before you actually go and see the baby to confirm if it’s a good time to meet since the entire world ends up visiting the hospital right after delivery. Trust me, it isn’t really a very good idea to do that
• Until and unless you aren’t one of the closest family members ..you should avoid visiting the baby at least for the first 3 to 4 days or preferably a week. We need to understand that the mother is tired from the delivery and newly adorned motherhood and both the mother and the baby needs time to adapt to the new world they are entering together.
• Also, we need to understand the fact that not all mothers start their journey of motherhood at a high point. There are a few mothers, and this number is increasing, who have to deal with postpartum depression and the harsh truth is a greater percentage of such women don’t even know they are dealing with the same and worst part is that they are frowned upon by the society
• Next thing is not to bring any flowers while visiting a new born since babies take birth in a very delicate environment and it’s not a good idea to expose them to allergens from pollen grains so soon in their life. And it’s any day better to take precautions than end up curing it.
• Then, you must be very careful with your personal hygiene before visiting a new born. You should have taken a bath and sanitized your hands well before picking up the baby. Small things do make a world of difference.
• And we all know, babies are adorable and extremely cute and hence it is hard to resist kissing them since it’s the best form to show your love but trust me...not doing it would be so much better.
• Then, limit your visit to a few minutes and by that I mean it should not be more than 30 minutes
• Keep your valuable suggestions to yourself please. Every visitor and family member is loaded with advices. Comfortable and not so comfortable one’s but they start pouring in the second the baby is born. It can be extremely frustrating for a new mother to get loads of advise while dealing with so many changes in her life.
• Everything a new mom does cannot be wrong because I am a Firm believer of motherly instincts because they have worked wonders for me since I was given the space to make them work thanks to my wonderful family.
• Stop pulling down a new mom and instead try lifting her up by saying she is exceeding expectations and see the magic happen. Relieve yourself from the burden of burdening others and it will work great for everyone.

Let’s do this for a change and try to follow these practices for a new mom and a new born baby. You will be the most loved visitor....I promise.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mom Store

Gunika is a beauty blogger mom sharing her journey of motherhood through her blogs. She had been previously working as a marketing manager with India's top IT firm and now working as a full time mommy blogger to give the best of her time and energy to her baby while pursuing her passion for makeup and writing alongside.. She has her little nest of a happy family based in Delhi, India