Another procedure given to babies soon after birth is Silver Nitrate--or as I refer to as the clear gunk they put in babies eyes. What is this and is it nesessary to give to each infant?
Silver Nitrate is an antibiotic ointment that is rountinely given to each newborn incase the mother has gonorrhea or chlamydia. Since it is hard to know who actually has it they give it to each infant for precautionary reasons. If the baby passes through the canal and becomes infected with this bacteria it could cause blindness. If the mother knows she has a sexually transmitted disease then it is absolutely necessary in preventing the infection being passed on to her baby. If the mother knows that she does not have a sexually transmitted disease or that the baby wasn't exposed to merconium during delivery there is no need for administering it. It can actually cause irritation to the eyes and blurry vision for several weeks.
It is very easy to decline this procedure in most states and hospitals if you choose to not have it done.
Here are a few links for further info on this topic...
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/silver-nitrate.html
http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nhealth/0,,3q83,00.html
http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/viewStudyWeb.aspx?id=19
http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/newbornbabies/a/babytests.htm
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