There are three types of milk feeds for a newborn:
i) Breast-feeds.
ii) Bottle-feeds with powdered infant formulas (marketed in 2 forms; one for 0-6 months and the other for infants more than 6 months. A third type is also available meant only for preterm babies).
Milk is the only food for babies
1. Breast-Feeding
• Breast-feeding has nothing but benefits:
– It provides the newborn baby with all the foods essential for its growth in a readily assimilable form*. It contains rich proteins, sugars, fats, mineral salts and antibodies which protet the baby against infection.
– This is the easiest and safest method of feeding a baby in all climates.
– The majority of women are able to feed their baby.
Continue reading Child Care: In What Forms Should Food Be Given to the Child?
The baby’s growth and good health depends on the quality of the food it is given:
• Most mothers have little knowledge of this subject, as you well know, and they would rather follow recipes handed down to them than simple, easy rules. This is why weaning is so important. The vast majority of breast-fed children actually grow without problems up to about 6 or 8 months.
Continue reading Child Care: An Introduction to Various Foods that Can Be Given to Babies
The preparation for breast-feeding starts much before delivery i.e. during pregnancy. The mother should read about breastfeeding and any anticipated problems or doubts should be clarified with her obstetrician during her regular antenatal visits. For e.g., if there are retracted nipples, daily manual traction (i.e. catching the areola and the nipple area between the thumb and fingers and gently pulling it outwards) can correct it. Such measures will not lead to feeding problems when the baby is born.
Continue reading Child Care: Breast Feeding – Preparation and Technique
Despite so many advantages, the incidence of breast-feeding is declining and the use of commercial formulas increasing. Why?
1. Figure consciousness: In this modern age, the media hype and western norms have created a feeling of insecurity about a person’s physical characteristics in the minds of both men and women. Breast-feeding being touted as the cause for breast sagging, women may prefer bottle feeding rather than running the risk of their figure being spoiled.
Continue reading Child Care: Reasons for Mothers Not Feeding Breast Milk to Their Babies
1. Nature’s gift: Breast milk is the nature’s way of nourishing a child and what is natural cannot be wrong. Infant formulas have come into vogue recently, while breast milk exists from the very beginning of human race. When there were no infant formulas, all mothers used to breast-feed without giving it a second thought, but now with the presence of milk tins, the mother’s motivation to breast feed has decreased.
1. Milk is not enough? Read our article on breast feeding for guidance.
2. Sore or cracked nipples: It is usually due to a faulty technique where the gums of the baby apply undue traction on the nipples. The technique of feeding has to be modified. For cracked nipples, it is best to apply some milk over it and leave it open to air. Lanolin ointment can also be applied locally. But keep away from soap, boric acid and powders. The feeding should continue (for Charter periods and starting on the less sore side). If the problem is severe and causing excessive pain to the mother during suckling, then breast pumps should be used to empty the breast. If the breast is not emptied, not only will it lead to a decrease in the milk supply but will also lead to “breast engorgement”.
Continue reading Child Care: Common Problems in Breast Feeding
1. Putting an older infant (>5-6 months) to sleep with a bottle in his mouth is discouraged because it may lead to dental caries, as well as the potential for future sleep problems, because the child associates sleep with having the bottle in his mouth. Most parents can wean the child from a bottle to a cup at the age of 9-12 months of age.
Continue reading Child Care: Tips and Advice for Feeding Children
Weaning
It is the process by which the child is shifted from an exclusively milk diet to other foods. It is started at the age of 4 months when liquids other than milk (e.g. juices, soups) and semi-solid foods (e.g. dal, rice) are introduced in the baby’s diet. Of course he still consumes milk, but as he starts consuming more and more of other foods, his milk consumption gradually decreases.
Continue reading Child Care: Feeding of Child of Four Months and Above
Both (a slight built and a heavy built) are two ends of the spectrum of growth and development. Both ends are normal as long as they remain within the spectrum i.e. the weight is in a range, which is normal for that age. For example a child of 1 year is normal if he weighs 8-12 Kgs. Let us consider adults. Some adults may weigh 50 kilos; others may weigh 70 kilos. Some may be of slender constitution; others may have a heavy constitution. Some put on fat easily and so have a tendency towards obesity.
Continue reading Child Care: Why are Some Children Thin While Others are Chubby?