Free tool · For perinatal professionals
Newborn Care Teaching Planner
Choose the session length and the newborn-care topics you need to cover. The planner times the session, gives you a script and a teach-back question for each topic, quotes the American Academy of Pediatrics wherever a script states a health fact, and prints a parent handout.
- Free
- No signup or email
- Works right on this page
- Nothing you enter is sent anywhere; saving is your choice
Parent education, not clinical instruction. Health statements are quoted from the American Academy of Pediatrics; nothing here is an instruction for a particular baby. Your unit’s protocols and your own judgment come first.
Planning the session
Pick 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3 hours and whether you are teaching expectant parents before birth or new parents after it. The planner keeps an opening and a teach-back close, shares the rest across your topics, and flags it if the time is too tight for everything you picked. Each topic lists what to bring, such as a doll, a diaper or a carrier, so you can set up before the family arrives.
Topics and order
The topics follow the course’s learning list: safely holding and handling newborns, babywearing, soothing, bathing, dressing and diapering, and healthy sleep and feeding foundations, plus when to call the pediatrician. Where a script includes a health fact it quotes the AAP’s parent site, HealthyChildren.org: the safe sleep basics (back for every sleep; a firm, flat surface with a fitted sheet only; room-sharing without bed-sharing for at least the first six months), what to do if a baby falls asleep in a carrier, the first-week feeding and diaper description for breastfed newborns, and the stool colors that always warrant a call.
Teach-back questions
Each topic has one question that asks parents to show or describe what they will do, such as “Describe where and how the baby will sleep on the first night home.” They print as a list for the end of the session.
The parent handout
The handout prints on its own page in short, plain sentences, one block per topic you covered, with the AAP named wherever it is quoted and a closing line telling parents to call their pediatrician whenever they are worried.
About the CEU class
This planner is free and is not the CEU course. Newborn Care for Perinatal Professionals is a separate self-paced course; its page states 3 Nursing CEUs upon successful completion and a comprehensive digital workbook.
Adapting the session to your setting
Before birth, families have time and attention for holding, bathing and safe sleep set-up; after birth, the same topics land better in short pieces at the bedside or at home. Choose the audience and the length that fits the moment, and keep the when-to-call topic in every session. Bring a doll for the hands-on topics so parents practice the holds and the diaper change instead of only watching.
Questions people ask
Is this the CEU course?
No. It is a free planner. The course is separate; its page states 3 Nursing CEUs upon successful completion.
Where do the health facts come from?
Each is quoted from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ parent site, HealthyChildren.org, named on the page with the date it was checked.
Can I change the topics?
Yes. Tick the topics you need and choose a length; the plan and handout follow your choices.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained. Last updated September 11, 2026. Checked October 9, 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. How to Tell if Your Breastfed Baby is Getting Enough Milk. Last updated January 13, 2025. Checked October 9, 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. The Many Colors of Baby Poop. Last updated July 11, 2024. Checked October 9, 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org. Baby’s First Days: Bowel Movements & Urination. Last updated November 14, 2024. Checked October 9, 2026.
- Birth & Baby University. The Newborn Care for Perinatal Professionals information page (linked above). Checked October 9, 2026.