Baby early weeks - enjoy talking to your newborn baby

Newborn early weeks: In the first few weeks, you will be learning how to look after your baby. You will start to understand them and will learn what is normal and what may be a sign that something is wrong. But the most important thing to do in the first few weeks is to enjoy your baby. Spending time with them is the best way to help them feel safe and loved.

Enjoying your newborn baby  

Keeping your baby warm, fed and safe may seem to take up all of your time in the first weeks. But they are only a tiny part of what it means to be a parent. Every second that your baby is awake, they are learning from you. Learning about what it feels like to be touched gently, the sound of your voice and your very special smell.

They are learning about what the world is like and, above all, what it feels like to love and be loved. It is important to talk to your baby.

How to talk to your newborn baby  

It is very important to talk to your baby. If you or your family speak another language, use it to speak to your baby. It can help your baby to learn other languages, and enjoy another culture. You can talk to them about anything and everything. Talking to young children, even very young babies helps them become good communicators later in life. It will also help your baby build their early bond with you.

Registering baby’s birth   

Your baby’s birth must be registered within six weeks from when they were born. This will take place at the register office in the district where they were born. The contact details will be in the telephone book under the name of your local authority. If you are married, you or the father can register the birth. If you are not married, you may register together with your baby’s father and his name will appear on the birth certificate.

In most circumstances, children benefit from being acknowledged by both parents and by knowing the identity of both their mother and father. To register jointly, you must either go together to register the birth or one of you can go with an appropriate document. Including the father’s name in the birth register will usually give him parental responsibility. Your local register office will explain this process.

At the moment, if you are not married, you can decide whether you want the father’s name to appear on the birth certificate.

If you do not want his name to appear, you can register the birth by yourself. However, there are plans to change the law so that joint registration, by both mother and father, becomes the normal arrangement for unmarried parents. Your local register office will be able to provide details about these changes when they come into effect.

If you live in a different district from the one where your baby was born, you can go to your nearest register office. The registrar will take details from you and then send them to the district where your baby was born. You will then be sent the birth certificate. You cannot claim benefits, such as Child Benefit, until you have a birth certificate.

All babies born in England and Wales are now given a unique NHS number at birth. Midwives request and receive a newborn baby’s NHS number. They send this NHS number to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages via your local child health department.