The U3 examination of your baby – that’s done

The U3 examination is often the first check-up appointment that takes place outside the hospital and is therefore the first examination at the pediatrician . You should always plan a little more time for the U3, because your baby will be examined again very thoroughly and you have the opportunity to discuss questions and problems with the doctor.

What is examined during the U3 examination?

The examination focuses on the neurological and motor development of your baby . The hip ultrasound, which can already be carried out in the U2 , is also an integral part of the U3. Your doctor will ask about difficulties in everyday life, for example with breastfeeding, and can thus better assess the health of the baby. In addition, other measurements and tests are made, which you already know from the U2:

• Height and weight: Your baby will be measured and weighed at the U3. In the first few months, the little ones gain about 150 grams per week.
• Breathing: The doctor will check if your baby is breathing regularly. The respiratory rate of healthy newborns is around 30-50 times per minute.
• Heart and circulatory system: The small heart should beat about 100-140 times per minute. Checks are also made for abnormal heart murmurs.
• Skin: The doctor carefully examines the condition and color of the skin in the U3, checks whether there are pigment disorders or water retention and, if there are any, the newborn jaundice has decreased. Baby acne occurs in about 20% of newborns a few weeks after birth. Numerous hormones support the baby’s development during pregnancy, and after birth there are still messenger substances in his body that can also stimulate the sebaceous glands. This is how small pustules and blackheads develop. However, since the hormonal balance regulates itself, the baby acne will soon disappear and should only be treated with mild, coordinated baby skin care products .
• Navel: The wound healing on the navel is also examined again.
• Abdomen and genitals: The U3 also scans the abdomen and genitals and checks whether your baby’s digestion is working properly.
• Skeletal, muscular and nervous systems: The head circumference is measured and the distances between the fontanelles are checked.

Test reflexes with the Vojta position reactions in the U3 examination

The pediatrician uses the “Vojta positional reactions” to test whether the early childhood reflexes have developed appropriately for the child’s age and whether they are equally pronounced on both sides. He puts the baby in different “positions” for a short time, for example by lifting one arm and one leg and noting how the little body reacts. In this way, he can get a good overview of your baby’s motor development and recognize whether the brain is sending the right signals.

With the U3, the pediatrician tests whether your baby reacts to noises and fixes on an object when it slowly moves back and forth. He will ask you about your behavior in everyday life. Does your child cry a lot? Are there any other noises by yourself? In this way he can get further impressions of the development of the sense organs.

For new parents who treated their baby very carefully in the first few days, the U3 is sometimes a bit of a shock. When the doctor is only holding the baby by one arm and one leg, you often want to snatch your child out of his hands. But don’t worry – your baby is robust and your doctor knows exactly what he is doing. So look forward (forewarned) to the investigations with ease.

hip ultrasound

An integral part of the U3 is the hip ultrasound, which could already be done in the U2. In doing so, a search is made (again) for undesirable developments in the hip area. If the pediatrician cannot carry out the examination himself, you will be referred to an orthopaedist.

In most cases, the acetabulum is sufficiently developed that the femur will later sit securely in it. Hip dysplasia, a malformation of the hip, is diagnosed in about three percent of babies. The doctor distinguishes between different degrees of maldevelopment (type Iab, IIa+, IIc, III and IV). For example, grade IIa+ means that a slight delay in hip maturation has been identified, but this usually normalizes on its own. A higher degree of delayed maturation or a malformation can be easily treated with orthopedic aids, such as braces.

Metabolic screening at the U3 examination

If this is not done with the U2, the metabolic screening is now carried out. To do this, the pediatrician takes some blood from your baby’s heel and has the sample examined in the laboratory for metabolic diseases. With the screening, for example, an underactive thyroid gland or a disorder in the amino acid metabolism can be detected at an early stage. Don’t worry, these diseases are very rare.

Advice on vaccinations

Most of the time, your pediatrician at U3 will also give you the most important information about the upcoming vaccinations. From the ninth week you can start with the first vaccinations according to the vaccination table. When it comes to vaccinations, you have to remember that they have to be repeated at certain intervals. You can find the recommendations of the permanent vaccination committee of the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO) in our  vaccination calendar .

All results of the U3 are entered in the small yellow pension booklet. The check-ups offer a good opportunity to discuss questions or concerns with the doctor. If you have problems with breastfeeding or your sleeping rhythm, you will certainly find some good advice here. If there are no more questions, you have made it for today and the next check-up – the U4 – will be in a few weeks.