‘Every communication is a genuine one’: Helping new parents read the signs

New parents can be taught how to read the signs their baby is trying to communicate, according to one baby whisperer.

Dr Susan Nicolson runs the New Born Behavioural Observations program at the Royal Women’s Hospital and says there are a few easy ways to read what a newborn baby is trying to communicate.

‘Mostly our instincts take us to a good place in terms of understanding what baby is saying through their behaviour and being able to respond to do it in a way that makes a difference to the baby, helps them regulate that behaviour,’ she told Neil Mitchell.

She said while parents should trust their instincts, sometimes they were misreading whether the baby was hungry, tired, wanted to be held or cold.

Making soothing sounds or rubbing their belly was one way to placate a screaming baby.

‘When they give you some sort of a communication, it’s a very genuine one,’ she said on 3AW Mornings.

‘They don’t know sometimes what’s wrong, when the baby’s eyes are closed tightly and they are really screaming, they need something as a circuit breaker to know they are not alone.’