New Born Health care and Developmental milestones
It is said, “when a child is born, a parent is also born”. And this new role never comes with a manual. We parents learn parenting with our experiences and this learning process continues till our last breath. But when it comes to child health and development, it’s better to avoid experimenting and consult an expert. Only he/ she can guide you the best.
We had a thorough discussion with Dr. Ibrahim ( a pediatrician and neonatologist) from child birth to developmental milestones. Let’s go to the frequently asked questions and their solutions.
HOSPITAL & GYNECOLOGIST SELECTION
Even before a baby is born, most difficult decision is to select a hospital and a gynaecologist for best care of mother and child both. It requires a proper research before finalizing a doctor. One can get help from various websites to check reviews about the gynecologist you are considering. There should be an expert team as a back up and relevant hospital should be well equipped to deal with any emergency situation.
GOLDEN MINUTE
As soon as baby delivered, those 60 seconds are most crucial. That is why it is called aa Golden Minute. During that minute, baby cry is most important to awake all his senses and to make all his organs respond. Best way is to hang him in upward position and rub his back. Usually babies cry with this technique. Other than this, flickering on feet or ear can also be applied. Spanking is strictly not recommended. This may harm his sensitive organs. Hence this spanking technique is now proven a myth. This might be surprising for you but it is true.
NEONATOLOGIST’S ROLE:
Right after this golden minute, there comes the role of neonatologist. Neonatologist examines baby’s head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth (if there is any premature teeth exists) nipples, umbilical cord etc with in 24 hours. These milestones need to be checked properly and thoroughly.
Neonatologist may advise about temperature controls for baby and mother, to avoid public (touching baby may cause infections or may bring viruses like pneumonia or flu), specially hands and feet of the baby should be covered properly to avoid cold and flu.
UMBILICAL CORD:
Umbilical cord is basically the source of nutrients that baby takes while in the womb. When baby gets delivered this cord cut to separate mother and baby. During this process, it may bleed as well. It should be properly clamped but keep intact if God forbid there is a need of UV line for blood exchange between mother and baby.
This cord needs to be properly cleaned with alcoholic swabs and hygiene must be maintained. It falls off at its own after a few days. But keep a check if there is any infection, must consult a pediatrician.
After settling down, it is usually observed that babies suffer from Juandice in very initial days of their birth. Let’s find out about that.
JUANDICE
There are two types of Juandice: pathological Juandice and physiological Juandice.
Both should be checked regularly by Neonatologist. Most of the time if child complexion is reddish right after birth, more chances of Juandice are there. If mother is in positive blood group and child is negative ( or negative – positive) , it gives pathological Juandice in early age. Then there is dehydrated Juandice which is the result of lactating issues It’s symptoms can very clearly be observed.
Symptoms:
Pale eyes
Weak cry
Constipation
Stages of Juandice:
Stages of Juandice starts from point 5 and extends till point 25-30. According to neonatologist,if it is till nose; it is at point 5. If spreads till chest, it is a point 8. Till stomach it is 8-10 or more and till foot it is 15-20. More than this is alarming. If it goes above 20, it can even damage brain. For 25-30 points, blood exchange procedure with mother needs to be done.
Treatment:
Sadly, in our society; Juandice is not taken seriously. And most of us try to treat it by keeping baby in sunlight. But here is a fact to burst this myth that there is no scientific reason behind sunlight treatment. Sunlight can provide vitamin D but can not cure Juandice.
Proper tests, medication and phototherapy is required to treat this disease.
Other than Juandice, most commonly observed issue in baby girls specially is swollen breasts. Let’s get to know the reason and treatment for this and if any other similar issue attached to that.
SWOLLEN BREASTS
It would definitely give a sigh of relief to parents facing this issue in their baby girls that it is not an issue. Yes, you read it right. There is no need to panic about this or even if a baby girl bleeds or excrete white mucus with urine. These are mother’s astrogen which transfers in babies (specially female child). It is just a reflux and goes automatically. You don’t need to massage or press the breasts to extract it. Leave it and relax.
PNEUMONIA
Pneumonia in new borns is dangerous. Proper consultation with a pediatrician is needed. General physicians are not children’s diseases experts. Proper nebulization is the best and most recommended recommended treatment. Medicines work 30% only in infants. So suction of mucus is important and should be taken seriously.
VACCINE
All above diseases and others required vaccination at the right time. In Pakistan, due to lack of awareness and education, most parents neglect or refuse to get their baby’s vaccination done. Vaccines like measles, chicken pox, flu shots and polio drops are must haves. When you get a vaccination card right after the birth of your child, implement on it accordingly. Don’t ignore it. These vaccines protect 65% of the diseases. If everyone of us opt for regular vaccination, Pakistan would be free from Polio and diseases alike.
RIGHT TIME FOR ORAL FOOD
If a baby is on mother feed, he doesn’t need water separately. Because of the fact that 3/4th of mother feed comprises of water. On the contrary, if a child is on top feed, it already is being made in water. Therefore, there is no need of water in both cases till 4 months atleast.
For oral solid food, it is recommended to start it after 6 months as chewing habits develop after this stage. This period is approved by UNICEF, WHO and Pakistan Pediatrician Organization.
Some mothers prefer to grind solid food to make it easier for their babies to swallow the food. But it is not a good practice. It may slow down the devwlo of their chewing habits. Start with the mashed soft solid foods and then upgrade it according to age. Food ratio should be weight in Kgs verses food in ounces. This calculation will make it easier to track food measurements and records.
Child’s immunity depends upon mother’s feed. How much mindful she was during her 1000 DAYS OF LIFE (from pregnancy till 2 years of lactation period). If there is a deficiency of iron, vitamins or haemoglobin, it reflects on baby’s health.
This 1000 DAYS awareness is much needed. Taking natural nutrients daily is the only formula to have and keep a healthy baby.
Hope this article has provided our all readers an indepth knowledge about Infant’s health related issues.
by Anila Razzaq