pediatrics
Physical Examination of the Newborn
Introduction
A thorough physical examination of a newborn should be done within 24 hours of birth. Doing the examination with parents present allows them to ask questions and allows the clinician to point out physical findings and provide anticipatory guidance. Routine screening tests to detect problems that cannot be seen during the physical examination are also done (see Screening Tests for Newborns ). Basic measurements include Length , Scores from neuromuscular and physical domains are added to obtain total score. (Adapted fromBallard JL, Khoury JC, Wedig K, et al: New Ballard score, expanded to include extremely premature infants.Pediatrics119(3):417–423, 1991. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)82056-6; used with permission of the CV Mosby Company.) Many clinicians begin with examination of the heart and lungs, followed by a systematic head-to-toe examination, looking particularly for signs of Birth Injuries and congenital abnormalities. 