Your recovery will be closely monitored. You'll likely be able to greet your baby and start your new life together. While you're being cared for, your baby receives his or her first exam.

Your stitches should dissolve within weeks. Until then, use this guide to help ease any discomfort and aid healing.

Your blood sugar will most likely return to normal after delivery. But gestational diabetes is a warning sign that you are at risk for getting diabetes later in life. You're also more likely to have gestational diabetes with your next pregnancy.

Before you and your baby go home, a healthcare provider will make sure that your baby has no health problems. You will also be checked to be sure you are healthy enough to take care of your baby and yourself.

Many experts urge hearing tests before newborns leave the hospital. Every year, about 12,000 American babies are born with hearing problems.

You may think your child's first test will come in school, but it will actually happen before leaving the hospital's newborn unit. Early screening tests for babies can find problems before symptoms arise, prompting early treatment.

Even the best-prepared parents may be surprised by a few things that are quite normal in newborns.