Common Newborn Findings — What's Normal

A head-to-toe guide to the rashes, bumps, noises and behaviours that can look alarming but are often normal in a healthy newborn.

Last reviewed: Reviewed 2026.04.23
Sources cited: 5 sources
Author: Dr Jubal John, FRACP
Category: medical guides

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Take-home

Newborns come with a catalogue of normal quirks, odd noises, transient rashes, minor swellings, peeling skin, stork bites, snuffly breathing, that look alarming and aren’t. Most resolve without treatment in days to weeks. A short list of things is worth reviewing quickly; everything else can be watched calmly. This guide is the head-to-toe “is this normal?” companion for the first 6 weeks.

Skin

Erythema toxicum (“baby rash”)

Blotchy red patches with small yellow or white centres on chest, back and face, appearing 24-72 hours after birth in up to half of term babies. Harmless: resolves in a week or two, no treatment needed.

Milia

Tiny white pinhead spots on nose, cheeks and forehead, blocked oil glands. Resolve spontaneously over weeks. Don’t squeeze. No creams.

Baby acne (neonatal cephalic pustulosis)

Small red pimples on cheeks and forehead, around 2-4 weeks. Linked to residual maternal hormones and skin yeast. Resolves over a few weeks. Wash with water only: no harsh cleansers, no adult acne products.

Peeling skin

Dry flakes on hands, feet and torso, especially in babies born at or past 40 weeks. Totally normal: the skin is adapting to air. A mild emollient (sorbolene) if it looks uncomfortable; no medicated creams.

Stork bites, angel kisses, salmon patches

Flat pink marks on the back of the neck (stork bites), upper eyelids or between the eyebrows (angel kisses): from superficial capillaries. Eyelid and forehead marks usually fade by 1-2 years; neck marks often persist but get covered by hair. Harmless.

Congenital dermal melanocytosis (formerly “Mongolian spots”)

Blue-grey flat patches on lower back and buttocks, common in babies of Asian, African, Mediterranean, Indigenous and Māori/Pacific heritage. Benign: not bruises. Usually fade over the first years. Documented at the first exam so they aren’t mistaken for bruising later.

Cradle cap

Yellowish greasy scales on the scalp. See the dedicated Cradle Cap guide.

Head

Moulding

An elongated or asymmetric head shape right after a vaginal birth, the skull bones overlap to pass through the birth canal.

Resolves over days to a week
Not painful
Not a flat-head problem (see Positional Plagiocephaly for the different later issue)

Caput succedaneum

Soft, puffy swelling on the top of the head from pressure during birth. Crosses suture lines.

Resolves in 1–3 days
No action needed

Cephalhaematoma

A firmer, well-defined swelling limited by suture lines, appearing 1–3 days after birth.

Resolves over weeks to a few months
Occasionally contributes to jaundice (blood being reabsorbed)
Don’t press or drain, let it settle

Fontanelles (“soft spots”)

Anterior (top of head, diamond-shaped): closes between 9 and 18 months
Posterior (back of head): closes by 2–3 months
Normal fontanelle: flat or slightly curved, pulsates visibly with heartbeat, this is normal and doesn’t mean injury
Sunken fontanelle can indicate dehydration, seek review same day
Bulging, tense fontanelle in an unwell baby. Emergency

Eyes

Subconjunctival haemorrhage

A red patch on the white of the eye from the pressure of birth. Harmless, resolves in 1-2 weeks, vision unaffected.

Blocked tear duct (dacryostenosis)

Watery eye on one or both sides, sometimes with yellow gunk in the inner corner. Common — 6-20% of newborns (StatPearls), and 9 in 10 resolve by 12 months without intervention. Clean gently with cooled boiled water and cotton wool (inner to outer corner), plus a gentle lacrimal-sac massage 2-3 times a day (ask us to demonstrate). Red flag: spreading redness, swelling, fever → same-day review. Full detail in our sticky eyes guide, including how to tell a blocked duct from conjunctivitis.

Squint / crossed eyes in the first months

Intermittent eye-crossing up to 4 months can be normal as eye-muscle control develops. After 4 months, a constant or large squint needs a review. At any age, one eye never moving in the same direction as the other warrants a review.

Erythema of the eyelids

Mild redness and swelling in the first day or two from chloramphenicol drops or silver nitrate (older practice) is normal. Ongoing redness, swelling, or pus → review.

Face and mouth

Sucking blister

A small blister on the upper lip from vigorous feeding, normal, self-resolves.

Epstein pearls

Small white pearls on the gums or the roof of the mouth, keratin-filled cysts. Harmless, resolve without treatment.

Tongue tie

A functional diagnosis, not a photograph, see Tongue Tie.

Tongue thrush

White curdy patches on tongue, cheeks, and palate that don’t wipe off. Often with nappy thrush or mum’s nipple thrush. See your GP for antifungal drops.

Chest

Swollen breasts, milky discharge (“witch’s milk”)

In boys and girls, a small lump behind each nipple sometimes leaking milky fluid, residual maternal hormones. Resolves over 2-4 weeks. Don’t squeeze (infection risk). A red, hot, tender breast → review (newborn mastitis is rare but real).

Noisy breathing and snuffles

Newborns breathe through the nose, and small noses plus residual amniotic fluid and thin mucus produce snuffles and snorts in the first 6 weeks. If feeding and colour are normal, it’s usually just noise, saline drops before feeds help if feeding is affected. Hard breathing (see Bronchiolitis, drawn-in ribs, nasal flare, grunting) is different and always needs review.

Periodic breathing

Babies can breathe irregularly, 10-15 fast breaths, a pause up to 5-10 seconds, then resume. In a well baby this is normal. Pauses over 20 seconds, colour change, or floppiness → 000 / Emergency. Apnoea monitors are not recommended routinely, see Safe Sleep.

Hiccups and sneezing

Both very common. Sneezing clears amniotic fluid, not a cold. Hiccups don’t need treatment.

Belly and genitals

Umbilical hernia

A soft bulge at the belly button that gets bigger with crying. See Cord Care, most umbilical hernias close spontaneously by ages 4–5 years. No taping.

Umbilical granuloma

A pink, berry-like lump after the cord falls off. See Cord Care.

Swollen labia, swollen scrotum

Both common for the first 1–2 weeks, from maternal hormones and fluid shifts.

Hydrocoele (soft, painless scrotal swelling, transilluminates with a torch): resolves in most babies by 12 months
Firm, red, painful scrotum or groin lump that doesn’t reduce → same-day review (possible incarcerated hernia or torsion)

Vaginal discharge and pseudomenses

A small amount of white or blood-tinged discharge in the first week in baby girls from withdrawal of maternal oestrogens.

Self-resolves in a few days
Clean gently with warm water; no need for creams

Skin tag at the hymen

A small pink tag visible at the opening of the vagina, normal anatomy, not a growth. Resolves or becomes insignificant over time.

Smegma

A small amount of white material under the foreskin or between the labia, normal, don’t scrub or retract.

Foreskin

In uncircumcised boys the foreskin is naturally adherent to the glans and does not retract. Don’t force it. It usually becomes retractable by age 5 or later. Gentle cleaning of the outside only.

Limbs and hips

Feet turning in (“positional talipes”)

Very common, positional talipes affects around 2 in every 100 babies (Pregnancy Birth and Baby); structural clubfoot is a separate condition affecting around 1 in 1,000. Most positional cases resolve with gentle stretches by 3–6 months. See Positional Talipes for the overview and Positional Talipes Stretching Exercises for the daily routine.

Clicky hips

Screened clinically at birth + 6-week check. See Hip Dysplasia Screening.

Bow legs

Normal until about age 2, the legs straighten as weight-bearing develops.

Nappy contents

Meconium (day 1–3)

Thick, tarry, near-black first stools. Should pass within 24 hours of birth. Delayed passage → review.

Transitional stools (day 3–5)

Greenish-brown, looser as milk feeds increase.

Milk stools

Breastfed: mustard-yellow, seedy, soft-to-runny, often after every feed. Formula-fed: tan or light brown, toothpaste consistency, 1-4/day. Babies don’t have to stool every day. Once the first meconium has passed normally (within the first 24 hours), frequency can vary widely, and some babies (especially breastfed) go several days between stools. This is normal as long as baby is otherwise well (undistressed, feeding well, gaining weight, tummy soft and not distended) and the stool, when it comes, is soft.

Orange or pink “brick dust” in the nappy

Urate crystals, common in the first 2–3 days. Resolves once full feeding is established. Past day 4 → review for feeding and hydration.

Blood in stool

Streaks of red blood: ask us. Can be anal fissure, swallowed maternal blood (if breastfeeding with cracked nipples), or cow’s-milk-protein allergy. Dark/black blood plus an unwell baby → same-day review. Bloody diarrhoea → Emergency.

Wet nappies: the reliable yardstick

Day 1-2: 1-2 wet nappies. Day 3-4: 3-4. Day 5 onward: 4–6+ heavy wet nappies per 24 hours. Nappy counts are lower in the first few days and build up as feeding establishes; persistently fewer than expected means under-feeding or illness.

Normal newborn behaviours

Behaviours that look worrying but usually aren't

Startling (Moro reflex) to noises or movement until ~4 months
Grunting, squeaking, snuffling: newborn noises are many and loud
Chin trembling when crying or cold
Brief shaking or jittery movements that stop when you hold the limb still
Rapid eye movements during light sleep
Irregular breathing during sleep (see periodic breathing above)
Sneezing frequently, clears amniotic fluid
Breath-holding briefly while feeding or dozing

The “crying peak”

All healthy babies cry more between 2 and 12 weeks, peaking around 6–8 weeks. See Unsettled Baby — the Crying Peak. This is not reflux, not tongue tie, not “wind”. It is developmental, normal, and time-limited.

Weight loss in the first week

Some birth-weight loss is normal in the first 3–5 days; most babies regain birth weight by day 10–14. Loss exceeding 10% of birth weight is the threshold for active review (Safer Care Victoria).

Loss over 10% triggers a review for feeding, hydration and a weighed-feed; any weight loss after day 7 also warrants a review.

When to seek help

Green — usually fine

Green: normal

Most of the above findings in a feeding, growing, alert baby
Fleeting rashes, minor bumps, snuffly but calm breathing
Normal nappy output for age

Amber — be alert

Amber: book a review

A finding that isn’t settling over the expected timeframe
Recurrent yellow eye discharge, persistent watering
Weight gain slower than expected
Feeding or settling consistently harder than a fussy day

Red — act now

Red: seek same-day / emergency review

Fever > 38°C in a baby under 3 months, always
Lethargy, floppy, hard to wake, weak cry
Apnoea > 20 seconds, colour change, unresponsive episode
Breathing hard: drawn-in ribs, nostril flare, grunting
Bulging or tense fontanelle in an unwell baby
Sunken fontanelle plus fewer than 3 wet nappies in 24 hours
Blood in vomit, green vomit, or bloody diarrhoea
Swollen red tender scrotum or groin that doesn’t reduce
Any seizure or abnormal movement that doesn’t stop when you hold the limb still
Jaundice in the first 24 hours or reaching the abdomen/legs (see Jaundice)

The parent test

A useful rule of thumb

For almost everything in this guide, the question is: “Is my baby otherwise well?”

A well baby is:

Feeding, breast or bottle, with 4–6+ wet nappies per 24 hours once feeding is established
Alert between feeds, rousable, eyes bright
Reasonably settled, a crying baby is fine; an unrousable one is not
Not obviously struggling to breathe

A rash, squeak, bump or snuffle in a well baby is often minor. The same finding in a baby who isn’t otherwise well is a reason to call.

Common questions

“I’ve taken a photo: can I just send it?”

Yes. For rashes, eye appearances, cord stumps, genital swellings, and head-shape changes, a photo in natural daylight is often enough to sort out at a distance. Always include a shot of the whole baby’s face for context.

“My baby’s nose is blocked: can I use decongestant drops?”

No decongestants under 6 years. Saline drops + gentle nasal aspirator before feeds is the safe and effective answer.

“How do I know if my baby is in pain?”

Unexplained high-pitched cry, arching, not settling with any measure, feeding refusal, or pulling up legs in a way that’s out of character — seek medical review. A crying baby at 6pm who settles with feed + cuddle is not in pain.

“Should I check the fontanelle myself?”

You can. A hand gently on the top of the head, with baby calm and upright: if it feels flat or slightly curved and you can feel a faint pulse, that’s normal. Strikingly sunken or tense + an unwell baby is a reason to call.

Not sure if something is normal?

Book a short review or call the rooms, the first 6 weeks is exactly the time to check.