BREASTFEEDING OR MILK POWDER

Breastfeeding is one of the most important things you can do to give your child the very best start in life. Breast milk provides the optimum nutrition for your baby. Despite their efforts, formula companies simply cannot copy the remarkable benefits of breast milk.

Breast milk contains exactly the right amount of nutrients that a baby needs and in a form that it can digest easily. Breast milk also contains important antibodies - cells that fight disease - that can help protect the baby from infections during the first months of its life.

However, not all women are able to breastfeed. Luckily, there are quite a number of aids for breastfeeding available on the market.

If there is a family history of allergy, breastfeeding has another important function. Breast milk rarely passes on an allergy.

There are many different kinds of milk powder available in the shops today and there is no great difference in the nutritional or food value of the different products.

HOW TO INCREASE MILK PRODUCTIONS

Many new mothers worry about the quantity of their breastmilk.

Thyroid hormones are important regulators of lactation, and often play a role in facilitating the action of other hormones. Thyroid hormones are essential to elicit a milk production response to other hormones known to stimulate lactation in mice (growth hormone and prolactin).

Tips:

Drink plenty of fluids and eat regular, nutritious meals.
Rest as much as you can. Avoid stressful activities.
Make sure your baby is properly positioned.
Nurse more often. Nurse your infant on demand, every two or three hours, or as often as 12 times in a 24-hour period.
Allow the baby to nurse on each side until he pulls off himself or goes to sleep.
Allow the baby to meet all of his sucking needs at the breast. Avoid any bottles or pacifiers during this time if possible.
Avoid supplements including solid food, water, juice, and formula. Adding these will result in your baby nursing less often and you getting less stimulation.
Snack often on foods rich in protein and calcium.

Herbs:

Herbs like Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, and Alfalfa are good herbs to increase milk production.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS FOR BABIES

VITAMINS AND MINERALS VITAMIN K: Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, which is stored in the liver. It plays a role in the complicated process of blood clotting. There is a disease called Vitamin K deficiency bleeding, which occurs in approximately 1/10,000 babies. In about half of babies, who suffer this bleeding problem after the first week of life, many will die or sustain significant brain damage due to the disease, because of bleeding into the brain. If babies are given vitamin K shortly after they are born, then this very small risk that they might start bleeding is taken away. Very rarely, a newborn baby may start to bleed, for no reason. VITAMIN D: Not all breastfed babies are receiving adequate amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is particularly important in the first year of life to make sure bones is properly calcified during this period of rapid growth. Babies who do not get enough vitamin D may get rickets, a disease that affects bone development. There are three factors that affect whether you need to give your baby vitamin D supplements: That is how much vitamin D the baby has at birth, if you don't have enough vitamin D while you're pregnant, that will affect how much vitamin D your baby has when he's born That is how much vitamin D the baby gets from food and how often the baby is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is preventable. Vitamin D supplements (10 µg/d or 400 IU/d) are recommended for all full-term infants who are breastfed. IRON: Babies are born with enough stores of iron to last four to six months. Iron deficiency is rarely seen in breastfed babies during the first six months of life. Iron is present in your milk. Although human milk does not contain large amounts of iron, it is very well absorbed. Approximately 50 percent of the iron in mother's milk are absorbed, compared to only 7 percent absorption from formula, and 4 percent absorption from infant cereals. Babies with an iron deficiency may have a decreased attention span and can be physically inactive. Babies with iron deficiency are: Not hungry, irritable, and often overweight. But they can also show slow weight gain and appear abnormally thin. Babies may have had blood in their stool, making the stool appear black.

BABY COLIC

All babies cry, it's one of the main ways babies communicate.
Some babies cry more than others. And some, although they're healthy, well fed and cared for, seem to cry inconsolably.
If your baby cries about the same time each day and nothing you do seems to comfort him or her, your baby may have colic.

Symptoms:

- A colicky baby cries around the same time each day, usually in the late afternoon or evening.
- Colic episodes may last anywhere from a few minutes to 3 hours or more. The crying usually begins suddenly and for no clear reason. Your baby may have a bowel movement or pass gas near the end of the colic episode.
- Many colicky babies draw their legs onto their abdomens, clench their fists, tense their stomachs or thrash around and appear to be in pain during crying episodes.
- Colic crying is intense, not weak or sickly.

The exact underlying cause of colic is not fully understood.

Possible reasons:

1- The baby may be having a digestive or allergic reaction to the milk she is drinking. If you are breastfeeding her, you can try changing your diet to see if you notice less crying.

What to do?

Eliminate spicy foods, high-fiber grains, beans, broccoli and cabbage, and caffeine.
Some babies do better if their mom eliminates all milk products from her own diets.

2- the baby's central nervous system may be immature and unsettled, and she is not yet ready for the unpredictable stimulation of the world.

What to do?

This baby may cry less if she is swaddled or carried in a front pack, rocked, or kept in motion in a swing. Studies indicate that babies who are carried by a parent in his or her arms or in a carrier for at least three hours during the day cry less than infants who aren't carried as much. The warmth and close physical proximity during carrying is calming to your baby and enables you to respond quickly to his cries.
She may settle when you expose her to continuous noise or vibrations that block out other stimulation, perhaps by taking her on car rides or placing her near a humming household appliance. The baby may calm down if she sucks on a pacifier or her fingers, or if you massage her gently. Touch is one of a baby's most highly developed senses at birth. Stroking your infant's skin can calm the baby and help her sleep better. A good habit is to massage your baby from head to toe for 15 minutes once daily before bed or at bath time. Simply pour a little baby oil into the palms of your hands, rub them together; then using your fingertips, draw circles in a rhythmic motion over your baby's body. Don't forget his hands, feet, face and head. Next, hold an arm or leg, and gripping softly with your open hand, gently move it back and forth using long, slow strokes.

3- the baby's gastrointestinal system may be immature. You may have noticed that your baby seems to have gas or pain, especially after feeding or before bowel movements.

What to do?

Make sure the baby isn't swallowing air from a bottle, and burp her frequently even if she is breastfed. If the baby seems to have a severe case of gas, your healthcare provider may suggest antispasmodic medications or herbal remedies such as weak teas brewed from fennel, chamomile, or anise.
Don't let your breasted baby get desperate for a feed as she may gulp and take in air which may cause her discomfort. If your baby is gulping milk and air then experiment also with different feeding positions. 'Wind' your baby after a feed or carry her around upright (over your shoulder) until she settles down.

4- the baby may be hard to soothe because her need for sleep and food is unpredictable. Hard-to-soothe babies are often those born a few weeks premature and in need of some catch-up time, or those trying to recover from a difficult birth.
Colic can stress parents out, and an anxious parent will find it hard to soothe a fussy baby.

5- Homeopathic Remedies who can be used.

Chamomilla
Abdomen and stomach are bloated. Pains are unbearable and severe. With diarrhea: stools are green and may smell of rotten eggs.
Babies scream with anger and are restless. They demand to be carried (fast rather than slowly) and cannot be comforted.

Colocynthis
Colic with a bloated abdomen and green diarrhea. The pains are severe and come in waves.
They are better after passing a stool and for pressure or rubbing. Babies draw their legs up and are better for having their tummies rubbed. They scream with pain and are better if you put them over your knees or shoulder.

Magnesium muriatica
Colic with constipation after drinking cow's milk. Stools may be green or more commonly are small and knotty and passed with difficulty, with a lot of straining.

6- Reflexology. Use the zones for digestive tract. 10 minuttes massage.

ORAL TRUSH

Oral thrush is defined as an infection of yeast fungus, Candida albicans, in the mucous membranes of the mouth.
Oral thrush is nothing serious and in fact, it is extremely common in babies and nursing mothers.

A mother with a yeast infection can give her baby thrush, if she is not careful about her hygiene. Thrush is easily transmitted from one family member to another. When a baby develops oral thrush this early on, there's a very good chance he picked it up during the birth process.

Breastfeeding need not be interrupted if either mom or baby has been diagnosed with a yeast infection. If the mother has nipple or breast candidiasis, or the baby has oral thrush, it is very important for both mom and baby to be treated at the same time.

Symptoms:

White, creamy colored, or yellow spots in the mouth. The spots are slightly raised and there is normally no pain in the area underneath the spots.
If you scrape off these spots, they leave small wounds that bleed slightly.

Tips:

If a member of your family has oral thrush, make sure all nasal and oral secretions of the person are disposed of safely and that you wash your hands thoroughly after contact.

If baby has thrush, breast-feeding mothers should clean their nipples with mild soap and water and apply antifungal cream after each feeding.

Sterilize baby bottle nipples and soothers by boiling in water for 10 minutes.

Reduce feeding time to 20 minutes maximum per feeding.

Eliminate soother (pacifier) if possible.

Babies with thrush are at higher risk for diaper rash.

MASTITIS

Mastitis is an infection in the breast.
It is usually found in women who are breast-feeding. It is much less common than it used to be, it affects women between 20 and 50.

Breast infection can be split into two groups: those, which occur in women who are breastfeeding and that which occurs spontaneously.

Invading germs causes mastitis.
In breastfeeding women those germs pass from your baby's mouth, nose, and throat into a milk duct through cracks or fissures in the nipples.
First-time moms who haven't mastered a good latch-on technique and are suffering from cracked nipples are more likely to contract mastitis, although experienced nursing mothers aren't immune. This is most likely to occur during the first six weeks of breastfeeding.

Non-nursing moms may get a breast infection when they experience engorgement.
In some cases, this condition occurs in women who have had removal of lumps in the breast followed by radiation therapy, in women with diabetes, or in women whose immune systems are depressed.

Other contributors include not completely emptying breasts of milk, and lowered resistance to illness (most new mothers are tired, stressed, and probably not eating all that well) -- factors that can affect nursers and non-nursers alike.

If the infection is not treated, it could develop into an abscess. An abscess is painful and will need to be (pierced open to drain the pus.

Mastitis is characterized by an area of hardness, pain, redness, and swelling in the breast. It may also cause flu-like symptoms or fever.

Tips:

Feed your baby on demand until they have had enough. Try to put your baby to the more painful breast first and try using one side for each feed rather than offering both breasts. If your baby is still hungry offer the other breast.
Take a warm shower before feeding.
Place a cold pack after feeding.
Massage your breast lumps gently towards the nipple while feeding.
Plenty of fluid and plenty of sleep.

MEASLES

Measles is one of the most contagious viral diseases.
One out of 10 children who catch measles will have an ear infection or pneumonia. A sore throat may occur.

It is caused by paramyxo virus and is the most unpleasant and the most dangerous of the children's diseases that result in a rash. This is due to the complications of the disease.

Other more serious complications include inflammation of the brain, convulsions, and death. The disease spreads when germs pass from an infected person to the nose or throat of others.

The child is contagious for up to 4 days before the symptoms appear and until the fever and rash are gone.
Measles is highly contagious and is spread easily from person to person through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes and a susceptible person inhale the organism.
These particles may remain suspended in the air, and persons have become infected simply be being in a room after an infected person has left.

About 5-10 percent of those who receive their first dose of measles vaccine may get a rash or slight fever within one or two weeks of vaccination. This may last for a few days.

Symptoms:

After about 14 days the following symptoms start showing:

A cold
Fever (About 39 C). After three to four days the temperature may fall, although it can run high again when the rash appears. the temperature, which may run as high as 40ºC, may stay that high for a couple of days. Then it disappears together with the rash, which may leave some brown spots.
Coughing
Reddish eyes
Sensitivity to light
Greyish spots may appear in the mucous membrane of the mouth just around the molar teeth.

MUMPS

Mumps is an acute viral disease characterized by fever, swelling, and tenderness of one or more salivary glands, usually the parotid and sometimes the sublingual or sub maxillary glands.
Mumps is most often a childhood disease but you can also catch it as an adult.

The mumps virus is found most often in saliva.
It is spread by direct contact or by droplets through sneezes and coughs. Mumps is most easily spread 48 hours before the symptoms begin.

Complications of mumps occur more frequently among adults than children, and may include meningitis, inflammation of breast tissue or inflammation of the ovary.

Symptoms:

Swollen, painful salivary glands on one or both sides of the face. Swollen salivary glands are the primary symptom.
Pain with chewing or swallowing, especially sour foods or beverages that promote saliva production.
Weakness and fatigue.
Fever.
Tenderness and swelling of a testicle.

Tips:

Drink plenty of fluids.
Bed rest is necessary the first few days.
Children.

COLD, FLU AND FEVER IN BABIES AND SMALL CHILDREN

How to handle it!

Tips:

1. Wash your hands. If small children are unable to wash their own hands, do it for them. Use plenty of soap and water.

2. Avoid contact with people who are sick.

3. Breastfeed your baby if possible, as long as possible. Breast milk provides your baby with antibodies, which are important for fighting infection.

4. Avoid second-hand smoke, which can increase vulnerability to illness.

5. Make your steam room. Let your shower run on hot and sit in the bathroom with your baby for 10-15 minutes, three times a day. (Do not put baby in the shower)

6. Fill the bathroom sink with hot water and add a few drops of Eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil. Both are natural expectorant, and the scented steam is very soothing to a sore nose.

7. Babies need love, attention and comforting, especially when ill.

8. Salt and water nose drops are good for thick, dry nasal secretions.

9. Cold: Put 5 drops of lavender oil in your child's bedtime bath to fight infection and encourage sleep.

10. Coughs often accompany colds, and are usually caused by viral infections.
A good tip by coughing at nigh is to raise the head of his cot by putting underneath the pillow.

11. Use a cool mist humidifier in baby’s room at night to keep the air moist. This will help prevent secretions from drying out.
Use distilled or filtered water in the humidifier.

About fever:

Fever below 39.5°C is not normally harmful.
Your child will not need treatment unless its temperature rises over 39 °C. If this happens, the child may look flushed, refuse to eat and drink, cry a lot or become very quiet. A fever is likely to be caused by an underlying infection.

Take the child's temperature regularly and take steps to bring it down. If your child still has a high temperature several hours later, or shows other signs of illness, contact your doctor for advice.

Normal temperature varies depending on where it is taken. The following are considered normal:

Under arm (36.5°C)
In mouth (37°C)
Rectal (37.6°C)

Tips:

1. Keep baby's room cool, but avoid cold drafts and breezes.

2. Don’t try to make a child "sweat out" a fever by bundling him up; that will only make his fever last longer. Instead, dress him in lightweight, breathable clothing and strip his bed of heavy blankets.

3. Encourage increased fluids.

4. Give the child paracetamol in suppository or liquid form regularly in full dose, and remember to follow the instructions on the package.

5. Continue to feed your baby as normal.

6. Try to keep a child with fever calm. Overexertion may cause higher temperatures.

7. If your child has a temperature of 38.5°C, you can help to bring his or her temperature down by sponging with lukewarm water. Do not use cold water.

8. Don’t give a cold-water enema to a child with fever.

9. Babies with a cold and fever are easily dehydrated so be sure they drink plenty of liquids.

Boost your child's immune system:

Boost your child's immune system and ease a sore throat by giving zinc. (Tablet or lozenge form)
Each day for three days.
Birth-6 months. 4 mg.
6-12 months. 6 mg.
13 months. -11 years 10 mg.

Ginseng, Goldenseal, Astragalus and Echinacea both stimulate the immune system and keep the body clear of infections.

Beta-Carotene is as a preventive measure.
Birth-12 months. 2,000 IU
13 months. -4 years 2,500 IU
5-6 years 3,000 IU
7-11 years 4,000 IU

C-vitamin is also a preventive measure.
Birth-6 months. 40 mg
6-12 months. 60 mg
13 months. -2 years 100 mg
3-6 years 150 mg.
7- and up 200-500 mg.
Garlic, Garlic has antibacterial properties
Ginger helps cleanse the body and reduce the intensity of a cold

ENURESIS - FREQUENT URINATION

Increased blood volume and pressure on the bladder cause frequent urination during pregnancy as the baby grows, especially in the first trimester and the last few weeks of pregnancy.

You may feel like you need to urinate even when your bladder is almost empty, because the pressure on your bladder gives the sensation that your bladder is full.
Do not avoid the urge of urinate.

Frequent urination helps prevent urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infection is a frequent problem during pregnancy that can lead to premature labor.

Tips:

Emptying your bladder completely each time you void
It's still important to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day: This won't reduce the urge to urinate, but it will keep you hydrated.
Practicing your pelvic floor exercises.

CHICKENPOX

Chickenpox is an illness caused by the varicella virus. It is a highly contagious illness that is common in children.

When one child becomes ill with chickenpox, the other children in the family will usually get it, too. A child can infect others. The viral infection is transferred from one person to another through direct contact with the broken chickenpox blisters and through airborne droplets.

Most children with chickenpox recover within 7 to 10 days. They are contagious until all sores have crusted over, which is usually 5 days after the rash begins.

The incubation period between being infected with chickenpox until the disease breaks out and symptoms appear is 10 to 20 days.

It is rare for a person to have chickenpox a second time. If it does occur, the second illness is usually very mild.

For some people the virus can become active again later in their life and cause a painful rash called "shingles”.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of chickenpox usually appear a little more than 2 weeks after exposure, although anywhere between 10 and 20 days is normal.

- A rash that usually begins on the body and face and later often spreads to the scalp and limbs. It may also spread to the mucous membranes especially in the mouth and on the genitals.
- The rash is often itchy.
- It begins as small red spots which develop into blisters in a couple of hours. After one or two days, the blisters turn into scabs. New blisters may appear after three to six days.
- The infected person may run a temperature.

Tips:

Rosemary and calendula (1 gram to 1 litre of boiled water)
Trim your child's fingernails or cover her hands with socks or mittens to keep her from scratching.

VACCINATION

Vaccination and Autism.

Are the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine safe for children to receive?

Some suggesting that it may increase the risk of autism.
The alarm was first raised in 1995 by parents whose children had been developing normally - and achieving all the normal development milestones of speech, eye contact and social interaction - and who had then succumbed to autism shortly after MMR vaccination.

Autism generally appears during the first three years of life, a period in which children are subject to numerous vaccinations. Could this be one of these curious "risks"?
There is an increasing amount of research being conducted into the possible link between autism and vaccination.

Hepatitis B and Vaccine.

Hepatitis B is a bloodborne disease transmitted by direct contact with blood or body fluids that contain the virus, sexual contact with an infected person, use of contaminated needles, or birth of an infant to an infected mother.

There is plenty of reports of adverse reactions associated with hepatitis B vaccine, or to multiple vaccinations including hepatitis B. About one-third of the reactions were serious enough to result in an emergency room visit or hospitalisation.

Vaccine and pregnancy

Some of the flu vaccines contain mercury.
Two groups are vulnerable to methyl mercury: the fetus and pregnant women. Premature babies are more vulnerable because they tend to be very small and their brain is not as developed as a full term baby". Be careful!

DEPRESSION - POST PARTUM

For many women, the birth of a baby is an exciting and happy experience. The weeks after the birth are thrilling, memorable, and exhausting, all at the same time.

About 10 percent of new mothers have a greater problem called postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a condition that describes a range of physical and emotional changes that many mothers can have after having a baby.

Complications can occur within days of the delivery or appear gradually, sometimes up to a year or so later.

Symptoms may include:

- Sadness, hopelessness
- Fatigue and exhaustion
- Loss of appetite
- Sleep disturbances
- Poor concentration
- To much concern for the baby
- Irritability
- Lack of interest in the baby
- Fear of harming the baby or yourself
- Fear of losing control
- Exaggerated highs and/or lows
- Insomnia
- Lack of interest in sex

Tips:

Eat well-plenty of fresh foods and protein.
Take some gentle exercise in the fresh air if possible every day
Vary your daily activities with your new baby so that you don’t get bored.
Do something just for yourself every day without the baby

COT DEATH

Cot death is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby for no obvious reason.

There is a connection between the sleeping positions of babies and cot death. The risk of cot death is greatly reduced if the baby sleeps on their back.

To let your baby sleep on its side is safer than letting it sleep on its stomach, but recent studies show that the position is not as safe for your baby as sleeping on its back.

Some doctors used to believe that if the baby slept on its back, it would be dangerous if it vomited. It was thought that the baby might choke, because it did not have enough strength to turn its head. However, babies sleeping on their back have no difficulty turning their heads if they are sick.

The danger of vomiting was the most important argument for the baby to sleep on its stomach, but it is more dangerous to let the baby sleep in this position.

Research has shown that certain babies are more at risk, namely boys, premature and low birth-weight babies. Cot death can happen to any family but it is more likely to happen in families living in difficult circumstances.

Other research has shown that a lack of oxygen could be one of the causes of cot death.

If both mother and father smoke during the pregnancy, the baby is up to 8 times more likely to die of cot death than if neither parent smoke.

Some have discovered that a baby sleeping in a quiet room could be more vulnerable to suffering with cot death.

OTITIS MEDIA - MIDDLE EAR INFECTION

Otitis media is an inflammation in the middle ear (the area behind the eardrum) that is usually associated with a build-up of fluid. The fluid may or may not be infected.

Symptoms, severity, frequency, and length of the condition vary.
Sometimes is a single short period of thin, clear, non-infected fluid without any pain or fever but with a slight decrease in hearing ability.
Other times are repeated bouts with infection, thick "glue-like" fluid, and possible complications such as permanent hearing loss.
There is one problem that nearly always occurs with all types of otitis media -- fluctuating hearing loss.

Otitis media may be caused by infection spreading from the nose or throat by way of the Eustachian tube (a passage between the throat and the middle ear).
Although this is the route of access for air to balance the pressure on either side of the eardrum, outward drainage through the tube is also important in maintaining the health of the middle ear, and blockage commonly leads to infection.

Otitis media is a common childhood disease and is, in fact, the most frequent primary diagnosis at visits to physicians by children younger than 15 years.
Otitis media primarily affects infants and preschoolers: almost all children experience one or more episodes of otitis media before age 6.

Acute otitis media is defined as fluid in the middle ear accompanied by signs or symptoms of ear infection (bulging eardrum usually accompanied by pain; or perforated eardrum, often with drainage of purulent or infectious material). Otitis media with effusion is defined as fluid in the middle ear without signs or symptoms of ear infection.

Otitis media is defined as chronic when middle ear effusion has been present for at least 3 months.
Chronic otitis media, which arises from a complex series of inflammatory events in the middle ear, affects approximately 10-30% of children.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of an acute middle ear infection usually begin 2 to 7 days after a cold or other upper respiratory infection. Signs and symptoms of an ear infection include:

-Ear pain (may be severe). Babies often pull or tug at their ears when they have an earache. When the fluid in the middle ear builds up, the eardrum may rupture. Once it ruptures, the fluid drains, the pain usually stops, and the hole in the eardrum heals by itself in a few weeks.
-Fever.
-Drainage from the ear that is thick yellow but not like ear wax. It may also contain blood, which indicates the eardrum has ruptured.
-Difficulty sleeping.
-Possible loss of hearing.
-Irritability, loss of appetite, and vomiting.

Symptoms of otitis media with effusion may include:

-Popping, ringing, or a feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear.
-Loss of hearing. Children with hearing loss may seem dreamy or inattentive, or they may be irritable and have behaviour problems.
-Some children do not have any symptoms with this condition.

Tips:

Keep your child away from contact with smokers
Try to choose a small day-care facility or home setting over a large centre
Wash hands to reduce passing on cold germs
Don't allow drinking from a bottle while lying down
Clean contaminated areas with disinfectants, especially objects that have been touched by children with colds
Wash toys that may go in your child's mouth