KEY POINTS
❖ Parental care: Don’t be obsessed with perfect baby care. The natural love and care that you give to your child is priceless and more important than knowing how to handle babies expertly. Some parents are over-conscientious and feei self-guilt about small things, because they take baby care too seriously and righteously. This impedes the natural parental care.
Continue reading Child Care: Parental Concerns and Anxieties
**A patient came to the doctor’s chamber with bruises on his face. On being asked the reason for those bruises, he replied that his friend had just come back from honeymoon. The doctor couldn’t understand the relation between the two events whence he elaborated “you see; it was me who had suggested marriage to my friend.” **
During the time that both parents are at work, there should be someone (a caretaker) who loves and is sensitive to the needs of the child. This caretaker may be the grandmother, a nanny, a servant etc. For the child it doesn’t matter, as long as he is not being neglected by the caretaker. Alternatively the child can be put in a creche, with the caveat that the creche should be clean, the caretaker should have a genuine fondness and love for the child rather than just going through the motions. There should not be many children in the creche as then individualised attention becomes difficult and hence the child may be neglected. The most important aspect is that the child should not feel neglected.
Continue reading Child Care: What to Look for in a Child Caretaker?
1. Normalcy of the Unborn Child
The parental anxieties may start from the time of pregnancy. The joy and pride of parenthood is mixed with a fear, “will my child be perfectly normal, i.e. without any birth defects?” The answer is a question, “why not?” The chances of a baby being born abnormal are minimal. It is just like worrying whether the roof will fall on one’s head one day, which is no cause for worry simply because the chances are minimal.
Continue reading Child Care: Common Parental Anxieties and Worries
Parents harbour doubts whether they are doing baby care correctly e.g. is the feeding proper, the clothing suitable etc? My advice is that parents should trust their natural instincts. The very fact that you are doing something for the care of your own child (even if awkwardly) is enough for the baby to feel loved and have a sense that she belongs to you and that you belong to her. Nobody else in the world, including the most perfect baby care provider, can give this feeling to your child. You and only you can make your baby feel as a part of you by your loving care, even if this care is less than theoretically perfect.
The role of the father is extremely important in the care of the newborn. There is no reason why the father cannot do all that the mother does for the baby, thus contributing towards the growth and development of the baby. Once they become mentally adapted to the role of child-care, they feel very satisfied that they are contributing their share towards the rearing of the baby and also feel proud in the fact that they are good fathers.
Continue reading Child Care: Father’s Role in Taking Care of the Newborn
KEY POINTS
❖ Father’s role: There is no reason why the father can’t do all that the mother does for the baby. Once they become used to this role, they feel proud and satisfied that they are good fathers and are contributing something to the upbringing of their child.
1. Small Boils on the skin
They are broken by firmly rubbing them with a cotton swab soaked in gentian violet paint, which subsequently is applied over the raw areas till healing is there. As long as the baby is active and sucking well, there is no need for oral antibiotics or other medications.
Continue reading Child Care: Common Problems in Newborn Children
1. Normal parameters of a newborn
A baby is term if it is 37-42 weeks’ gestation. If it is less than 37 weeks, it is preterm and if it is more than 42 weeks, it is post-term. A pregnancy is typically 40 weeks. The EDD (expected date of delivery) = LMP (last menstrual period) + 9 months and 7 days. Supposing a pregnant woman had her LMP on 1.1.96. Then the EDD will be 8.10.96, which is equal to 40 weeks of pregnancy. If the baby is born between 17.9.96 (i.e. 3 weeks prior to 8.10.96 = 37 weeks) and 22.10.96 (i.e. 2 weeks after 8.10.96 = 42 weeks), then it is term.
Continue reading Child Care: Normal Aspects of Newborn Babies
The main criteria used for assessing growth are the weight, height and the head circumference of a child, which are measured periodically and plotted on a “growth chart.” (A sample chart is given at the end of this article.)
1. Weight
The normal birth weight of a term baby ranges from 2.5 to 3.8 kilos. The baby loses some weight for the initial 3-4 days, and regains its birth weight by the end of 7-10 days (it may take 14 days in case of preterm babies). So if your baby is weighing the same as at birth even after 10 days, it is normal (and not an indicator of poor breast milk supply).
Continue reading Child Care: Weight, Height and Head Circumference of a Newborn Baby