Samiksha Choithani

Babies sometimes have their favourite side, and only prefer to take feed from one breast. At times it is because that particular side produces more milk or sometimes it is the side that produces less. The baby might avoid the most productive side as (s)he may not want the milk to gush out quickly that forces them to gulp fast.<ul><li>You can try offering one breast first, and then the second. Pump on the side that is not preferred by the baby as the baby might get frustrated if you forcefully offer both sides.</li><li>Keep a track of urine, stool and weight of the baby, if that is on track, let the baby feed on his/her preferred side and you can pump the other side.</li><li>If the baby isn’t gaining weight, try to feed the pumped milk from the other breast or try new positions to make the baby feel comfortable on both sides.</li><li>If the problem is with nipples, the baby may prefer to latch the one that is fully engorged. Try to talk to your gynaec, they will help you to pull the nipple on the other side (it is little painful) but once done, baby and mommy will be comfortable throughout the breastfeeding journey.</li></ul>

Many babies have a favourite side to feed on. However, if you are experiencing a problem with that, the situation can always be improved.

When baby prefers one breast!

Experts are still learning about how to protect the body against coronavirus. There are far fewer cases of the virus reported in children. Most children catch the infection from someone they live with or from a family member. The virus seems to cause a milder infection in children than in adults or older people. Symptoms : Common symptoms: fever, tiredness, dry coughSome children may experience aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, headache, rashes. IN severe cases, there is difficulty in breathing as well. On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to show, however it can take up to 14 days. Seek medical attention if your child has a fever, a cough, and difficulty in breathing. PrecautionsBelow practices will help you and your child keep safe from Corona Virus:<ul><li>Avoid contact with people who are known patients of coronavirus.</li><li>Wash your and your baby's hands well with soap for at least 20 seconds. Wash them often.</li><li>Avoiding travel and crowded places.</li><li>Teach them not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth, especially if they haven’t washed their hands.</li><li>Use a sanitiser.</li><li>Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough.</li><li>Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.</li><li>Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that people touch a lot.</li></ul> FAQs: Can children get infected by coronavirus?Studies suggest that children are equally likely to get infected as adults. However, the severity is less in children. Difference between Coronavirus and Covid-19?Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses known to cause respiratory illnesses in animals and humans. Whereas, Covid-19 is the disease caused by a coronavirus. How does Covid-19 spread?People can catch this infection from someone who has it. It is primarily by the small droplets expelled from the nose or mouth when a person with Covid-19 sneezes, coughs or speaks. These droplets can stay on surfaces so when someone touches those infected surfaces, they might catch the infection. Is there a vaccine, drug, or treatment available?Some traditional medicines and home remedies might soothe the suffering from the infection but there is no specific vaccine, treatment, or drug available as of now. Difference between quarantine, isolation, and distancing?<ul><li>Quarantine means separating people who are not ill themselves but may have been exposed to Covid-19. Self-quarantine means separating yourself even if you are not ill but believe that you might have been exposed to the virus.</li><li>Isolation is separating the people who are ill with Covid-19 symptoms.</li><li>Physical distancing is to stay at a distance of at least 1 metre to avoid catching the virus. This needs to be followed by everyone regardless of whether someone has symptoms or not.</li></ul>

Here are Coronavirus Symptoms, Precautions, and FAQs.

All About Coronavirus

A balanced diet for a young child means having variety of foods.&nbsp;From the age of two, a child should be moving towards a diet that is similar to the rest of the family.Follow below mentioned measures to increase weight of your underweight child in a healthy manner:<ul><li>Your child should have at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.</li><li>The meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates.</li><li>Some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks and yogurts). Choose lower-fat and lower-sugar options.</li><li>Some beans and pulses, in case you prefer non-vegetarian food, fish, eggs, meat and other protein. Aim for two portions of fish every week – one of which should be oily, such as salmon or mackerel.</li><li>Plenty of fluids such as water, milk, fresh juice making up to – 6-8 cups/glasses a day. Energy-dense foods such as whole milk, yogurt, cheese and oily fish can also be given.</li><li>By the time your child is five, they should be eating a healthy low-fat diet. There are a few steps you can take to increase your child's calorie intake until they reach a healthy weight, while still providing a healthy diet.</li><li>Bulk up mashed potato by putting milk or cheese in it</li><li>Put grated cheese on beans on toast</li><li>Make milk puddings</li></ul> Try not to give more of:<ul><li>Sugary drinks and foods – It's not recommended to give your child high sugar drinks and foods. The longer and more often sugar touches your child's teeth, the more damage it causes. If your child does have sugary foods or drinks, it's best to give them at mealtimes to minimise damage to their teeth.</li><li>Saturated fats – These are unhealthy fats, such as those contained in burgers, sausages, pies, biscuits, cake and cheese. Try not to give these too often.</li><li>Whole grains – Wholegrain foods, such as wholemeal pasta, bread and brown rice, can be high in fibre and may fill up your child before they've taken in the calories and nutrients they need. After the age of two, you can gradually introduce more wholegrain foods.</li></ul> Note: It’s normal to worry that your child is not getting the food that he or she needs to grow. But kids are more than capable of knowing whether they are hungry or not. Unless your doctor tells you that your child isn’t getting the nutrients that he or she needs, you should not worry about the lack of food intake. As long as your child's weight is fine, (s)he is sleeping well and has normal bowel movements, there is no need to worry that whether your child is eating enough or not.

Underweight children require foods and diet that can provide them with enough nutrition and sufficient calories.

Underweight child

If your child does not like milk or takes time to have a glass of milk every morning, do not get impatient. Threatening the child is not a solution.Calcium is important for bones and milk intake is important for a child’s health, so you can try these techniques or give alternate sources of Milk: <ul><li>Keep offering milk at each meal.</li><li>Make a smoothie with Banana or make almond milkshake.</li><li>You can pair milk with cornflakes or healthy cereals.</li><li>Give a handful of almonds and oranges as a substitute.</li><li>Sprinkle some sesame seeds in salads or add them when you knead a roti dough.</li><li>Give plenty of curd or yogurt/cheese/ghee - these are good substitutes of milk.</li><li>Don’t start with a full glass and insist on finishing it; try small quantities and gradually increase the intake.</li><li>You can even pair it with you child’s favourite biscuits or cookies.</li><li>Give them options of colourful glasses to choose from so as to make the milk consumption appealing.</li></ul> REMEMBER the goal is to fulfil the calcium need in a child's body. So if your child dislikes animal milk, you can try almond or coconut milk or given him/her alternative sources of calcium.

If your child does not like milk or takes time to have a glass of milk every morning, do not get impatient.

What to do if child does not drink milk?

Fever in itself is not a disease. Instead, fever is the body’s immunity fighting against a virus or bacteria which has invaded the human body. So when a pathogen attacks our body, our immune system activates and increases blood circulation in the body. The activation of the immune system and increased blood circulation leads to a rise in the body’s temperature. This is how our bodies are naturally designed to fight against diseases whenever there is any external attack on the body. Fever is not our enemy, it is our friend. Toddlers and infants easily catch fever because they are always in contact with germs. If your child is eating fine, sleeping for appropriate hours, and urinating 7-8 times a day, then there is nothing to worry about. The fever will come down easily after 2-3 days. If the fever lasts for more than a week, and your child does not eat, sleep, and urinate properly, it is advisable to visit your child’s paediatrician. Sometimes, infants and toddlers might suffer from fits during high fever. This is when it becomes very much essential to bring down the fever. Children also feel pain or ache during fever due to which it is important to lower down the fever in children by giving medication. Common Causes of Fever:<ul><li>Respiratory tract infections</li><li>Flu</li><li>Tonsillitis</li><li>Cold and cough</li><li>Ear infections</li><li>Teething in infants</li></ul> How to be sure whether a child has fever or not?<ul><li>Most of the parents touch their child’s forehead and if they find it a little warm, they consider it as fever. Scientifically this is termed as delusion of fever.</li><li>Delusion of fever might result due to several reasons:</li></ul>- Mother’s hand being cold because of working with water on and off. Also, hands are usually cold as they are quite away from our hearts.- As infants barely have hair on their head, their head feels a little warmer than adults.- As a child’s brain is developing, there is blood circulation going on and that is the reason their head can feel hotter compared to the rest of the body.<ul><li>If the temperature of a child's head is 98.5 or 99 degree Fahrenheit and if mother’s hands are at 90 or 92 degrees Fahrenheit, then too the mother can find a child’s forehead way hotter even if the child’s temperature is actually normal.</li><li>So never assume there is fever just by touching your child’s forehead, always use a clinical thermometer to stay assured.</li></ul> Diagnosis:Thermometer reading:<ul><li>Digital thermometers are the most reliable and the easiest to use. Place it in the armpit of your child for 1-2 minutes and it will clearly show temperature readings. There is a beep sound that comes when the temperature stops rising. Take that reading and you would accurately know your child’s temperature.</li><li>Scientifically, if the axillary (armpit) temperature reaches 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or is more than that, it is considered as a fever.</li></ul> Treatment:Medicine for children having fever:<ul><li>Safest option for relieving a child’s fever is paracetamol. Paracetamol is easily available in the market. Choose any medically acclaimed brand which has a good taste so that the child can easily take it. Or you can simply ask your child’s paediatrician.</li><li>Dosage is usually mentioned on the bottle. Dosage depends upon the age and weight of the child. Paracetamol comes in two different preparations. One is the regular preparation and the other is DS- (double strength) preparation.</li><li>Regular paracetamol syrup contains 120-125 mg of paracetamol in 5 ml. Whereas DS paracetamol syrup contains 240-250 mg of paracetamol in 5ml.</li><li>Usual dose that needs to be given is 10-15 mg of paracetamol per kg of a child's weight.</li><li>For example, if your child is say 8 to 10 kgs in weight, 5ml of regular paracetamol is enough. As the weight increases, dosage should also be increased.</li><li>For every 2kg of weight increase, 1ml of syrup should be increased.</li><li>For a child who is 12 to 14 kg, 5 ml of DS paracetamol can be given. Otherwise the child will have to take 7 to 8 ml of regular paracetamol which is more than required.</li><li>Paracetamol is considered the safest medication for children. Certain reports say giving 20 mg per kg of child’s weight is also allowed in a few cases. In a whole day, giving 60 to 80 mg of paracetamol per kg is also considered harmless.</li><li>If it is required, you can give paracetamol after every 4 hours. There are certain diseases in which the fever subsides for 10 to 12 hours, once you have given paracetamol. In such cases there is no issue. But there are other types of diseases where the fever keeps coming back frequently. Here, once you give the medication, the fever subsides for a while but there are toxins in the blood therefore as the effect of medicine subsides; there is rise in temperature again. In such a case you need to give paracetamol after every 4 hours as per required.</li><li>It is very rare that the child’s fever doesn’t subside after taking paracetamol. In most cases children respond well to this medicine yet there can be a few cases where a child’s fever is not affected at all even after taking paracetamol. In that case, you will have to give some other fever medication after consulting your child’s paediatrician.</li><li>If paracetamol does not seem to work for your child, you can try either of these two combinations:</li></ul>i. Combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen. It is commercially known as ibugesic plus or Combiflam.ii. Combination of Paracetamol and mefenamic acid. At times when giving Paracetamol doesn’t show any improvement, you can use mefenamic acid - Meftal, which is also a very popular medicine for fever. <ul><li>Apart from medicines, you can also use cold packs to decrease your child’s temperature.</li><li>Keep in mind to not use cold refrigerated water cold packs for fever, instead use normal tap water. Soak the cloth in the water, drain excess water and place it over the child’s hands, legs, and forehead. Temperature will eventually subside.</li></ul> Home Remedies:<ul><li>If the temperature is below 102˚ F the fever is normal, just give plenty of fluids (liquid) and extra rest.</li><li>If the fever is between 102˚ F to 105˚ F give a warm bath or sponge your child with lukewarm water, this will help to reduce the temperature.</li><li>Make the child wear light clothes and use a light blanket.</li><li>Complete rest and good sleep can help the child recover soon.</li><li>Increase the water intake as much as possible.</li></ul> Prevention:<ul><li>Make sure your child(ren) wash hands properly and regularly.</li><li>Make them to avoid touching their mouth, eyes, and nose constantly.</li><li>Maintain hygiene in your child's surrounding.</li><li>Avoid sharing cups/glasses/spoons.</li></ul>

Here are Fever Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Home remedies, and Prevention.

All about Fever

Palak Vyas

Tearing is a normal function of the eye. But when tear ducts get blocked due to infection and inflammation, tears well up in the eye and fall excessively; this is called "eye watering". In newborns, the condition usually resolves itself within a few weeks. Common causes of watery eyes:<ul><li>Allergies</li><li>Blocked tear duct</li><li>Common cold</li><li>Dry eyes</li><li>Ingrown hair lashes</li><li>Pink eye (Conjunctivitis)</li><li>Stye (a red, painful lump near the edge of the child’s eyelid)</li><li>Tear duct infection</li><li>Eye injury</li><li>Chemical splash in the eye</li></ul> Symptoms associated with watery eyes:<ul><li>Eye pain</li><li>Eye infection</li><li>Runny nose</li><li>Vision impairment</li><li>Sneezing</li><li>Swelling in the eyes</li><li>Redness in the eyes</li></ul> Treating eye watering:<ul><li>Sometimes a sticky liquid may form around the baby's eye or eyes. You can use a piece of cotton wool that has been soaked in sterile water to clean the eyes. Make sure to boil the water to make it sterile and then cool enough before dabbing it on the child’s eyes with cotton wool.</li><li>Sometimes tears can be relieved by gently massaging the tear ducts. Apply light pressure with the finger and thumb to the outside of the nose.</li><li>If the situation persists for more than a day, consult a doctor.</li></ul>

The problem of constant tears usually resolves within a few weeks in a newborn. If eye watering is accompanied with other problems, you might want to consult a eye specialist for your child.

Treating eye watering

There is a difference between an overweight child and a child who overeats. Overweight leads to health problems but over eating does not always leads to heath issues if your child is active. If your child is overeating:Accept that children come in all shapes and sizes and their appetites also vary. You should trust your child to be able to feed himself/herself. If your child is extremely active physically, his or her appetite may be larger. This is completely normal. Remember that your kid is constantly growing and (s)he needs food to support their development. But if your feel that your child is an over-eater and is not very active physically, then in this case, overeating may lead to your child being an overweight child. In case of an overweight child:As a parent stop blaming your child for unhealthy eating habits. Shouting and forcing them never works. Instead of stopping it altogether, you can reduce it gradually and simultaneously increase healthy food intake. Parents can also make healthy food interesting by either using colourful utensils, or different shaped plates, dressing food in an interesting way, creating a back story associated with the food. On a standard Body Mass Index (BMI) chart, kids ages 2 to 19 fall into one of four categories:<ul><li>Underweight</li><li>Normal weight</li><li>Overweight</li><li>Obese</li></ul>Depending on your child's BMI and health, the doctor may refer you to a registered dietitian or a weight management program. Here are 5 key ways you can help your child maintain a healthy weight:<ul><li>Be a good role model – A child is going to follow what he/she sees so have healthy eating habit and the child will follow.</li><li>Encourage physical activity. Make time for a little walk or play a small game wherein the child has some physical movements.</li><li>Keep to child-sized portions.</li><li>Eat healthy meals, drinks and snacks.</li><li>Less screen time and more sleep.</li></ul> Overweight children soon cross the mark of obesity hence it is important to keep a check on their eating habits. Obesity leads to several health problems in later life such as:<ul><li>Type 2 diabetes</li><li>High blood pressure</li><li>High cholesterol</li><li>Bone and joint problems</li><li>Shortness of breath that makes exercise, sports, or any physical activity more difficult</li><li>Restless sleep or breathing problems at night</li><li>Liver and gallbladder disease</li></ul> Obese kids might also deal with emotional issues like low self-esteem, and may be teased, bullied, or rejected by peers. Kids who are insecure with their weight can be at risk for:<ul><li>Unhealthy dieting and eating disorders</li><li>Depression</li><li>Substance abuse</li></ul> Reasons behind obesity:<ul><li>Diet habits: high consumption of fat-filled, processed or packaged foods.</li><li>Lack of exercise: older kids and teens should do moderate to vigorous excerise for atleast one hour.</li><li>Genetics: Genes help determine body type and how the body stores and burns fat.</li><li>Some medication</li><li>Endocrine problem</li><li>A combination of the above</li></ul> Preventing Obesity:<ul><li>Make healthy eating and exercise a family affair.</li><li>Take them along when you go grocery shopping.</li><li>Teach them how to make good food choices.</li><li>Cut down on TV, phone, computer, and video game time and discourage eating in front of a screen (TV or otherwise).</li></ul> Encourage healthy eating habits. There’s no great secret to healthy eating. To help your children and family develop healthy eating habits:<ul><li>Provide plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.</li><li>Include low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products.</li><li>Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans for protein.</li><li>Serve reasonably-sized portions.</li><li>Encourage your family to drink lots of water.</li><li>Limit sugar-sweetened beverages.</li><li>Limit consumption of sugar and saturated fat.</li><li>Remember that small changes every day can lead to a recipe for success!</li></ul>

For overweight children, you cannot just take away interesting food altogether. It needs to happen gradually over the time.

Overweight Child

Ravina Sewani

Infants and toddlers tend to get a heart attack but in very rare cases. Some children are also born with congenital heart defect, which means that a child is born with a heart structural problem. Congenital heart defects can be simple or complex and may or may not need treatment or surgery. There are about more than 25 different types of congenital heart defects and only a professional expert can decide whether a child needs surgery or not. Congenital heart defects are the cause of heart attacks in babies and children. Symptoms of congenital heart defect:<ul><li>Pale grey or blue skin colour</li><li>Rapid breathing</li><li>Swelling in the legs, abdomen or areas around the eyes</li><li>Shortness of breath during feedings, leading to poor weight gain</li><li>Easily becoming short of breath during exercise or activity</li><li>Fainting during exercise or activity</li><li>Swelling in the hands, ankles or feet</li></ul> Diagnosis:Serious congenital heart defects are often diagnosed before or soon after your child’s birth. If you notice that your baby has any of the signs or symptoms above, call your child's doctor. CausesResearchers aren't sure exactly what causes most of these defects, but they think genetics, certain medical conditions, some medications and environmental factors, such as smoking, may play a role. Types of heart defects:<ul><li>Holes in the heart: Holes can form in the walls between heart chambers or between major blood vessels leaving the heart.</li><li>Obstructed blood flow: When blood vessels or heart valves are narrow because of a heart defect, the heart must work harder to pump blood through them.</li><li>Abnormal blood vessels: Several congenital heart defects happen when blood vessels going to and from the heart don't form correctly, or they're not positioned the way they're supposed to be.</li><li>Heart valve abnormalities: If the heart valves can't open and close correctly, blood can't flow smoothly.</li><li>An underdeveloped heart: Sometimes, a major portion of the heart fails to develop properly.</li><li>A combination of defects: Some infants are born with several heart defects.</li></ul> Risk factors:<ul><li>Pregnant mother with Rubella</li><li>Diabetic mother</li><li>Certain medications; it’s better to give a list of medications a mother takes to her doctor before she tries to get pregnant.</li><li>Drinking alcohol during pregnancy</li><li>Smoking</li><li>Heredity: Genetic testing can detect such disorders during fetal development.</li></ul> Complications:<ul><li>Heart failure: This serious complication may develop in babies who have a significant heart defect.</li><li>Slower growth and development: Children with more-serious congenital heart defects often develop and grow more slowly than do children who don't have heart defects.</li><li>Heart rhythm problems</li><li>Cyanosis: If because of your child's heart defect, oxygen-poor blood mixes with oxygen-rich blood in his or her heart, your child may develop a grayish-blue skin colour, a condition called cyanosis.</li><li>Stroke: Although uncommon, some children with congenital heart defects are at increased risk of stroke.</li><li>Emotional issues: Some children with congenital heart defects may feel insecure or develop emotional problems because of their size, activity restrictions or learning difficulties.</li></ul> Prevention:It may not be possible to prevent congenital heart defects as the exact causes are not known. But here are a few things to do to reduce the risks of such defects:<ul><li>Get a rubella vaccine</li><li>Control chronic medical conditions like diabetes</li><li>Avoid drinking and smoking</li><li>Take a multivitamins with folic acid</li></ul> Heart Attacks or Heart Failure in children: Causes:<ul><li>Over-circulation failure: When blood mixes inside the heart due to a congenital heart defect.</li><li>Pump failure: When the heart muscle becomes damaged and no longer contracts normally. This can be due to a viral infection as well apart from the problems with the heart muscles and arteries. Children with muscular dystrophy may eventually also develop problems with their heart muscle.</li><li>Low blood (anaemia) can also result in heart failure.</li></ul> Symptoms:<ul><li>Trouble breathing</li><li>Poor feeding or growth</li><li>Excessive sweating</li><li>Low blood pressure</li></ul> Diagnosis:If your physician suspects that your child may be experiencing heart failure symptoms, a chest X-ray may help determine if the heart is enlarged. You also may be referred to a paediatric heart specialist.&nbsp;Additional tests can include an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to evaluate the heart rhythm or an ultrasound of the heart (echocardiogram) to evaluate heart structure and function. Treatment:<ul><li>If heart failure is caused by over-circulation due to a congenital heart defect, surgery is often necessary to repair the defect. Often, your physician may initially treat your child with medications, which sometimes requires hospitalisation. Other dietary changes such as low-salt and low-fat diets may be discussed. Following appropriate treatment, your child’s condition and symptoms may improve. This is called compensated heart failure. Then your child can get a surgery done as and when the doctor guides.</li><li>If the heart failure is caused by pump failure, your child may require a pacemaker. A pacemaker reminds the heart to maintain a normal heart rate. The small, battery-operated devices are like tiny computers and are implanted under your child’s skin with a small wire connected to the heart. This requires a surgical procedure. In other cases of pump failure, different kind of surgeries might be needed.</li></ul>

Here are Heart Defects Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Types, Risk factors, Complications, Prevention, and Treatment.

Heart Defects and Heart Failure in Children

<ul><li>Yes! There is a difference in potty training boys and girls. Most parents start potty training their child when they are between 2-3 years old. Usually, a girl child is ready to start potty training when she is 18 months old or it can vary up to 4 years in some cases.</li><li>Girls tend to get started with potty training about 3 months earlier than boys. Boys take more time to get ready; at around 2 years they start and can be fully potty trained between 4 to 6 years of age. So they start later and take longer to train.</li><li>Boys have to learn two different ways and they easily accept this. To start with, teach them to use the potty while sitting and gradually they learn to use the toilet in standing position for peeing and in sitting position for potty.</li><li>Girls mature faster both physiologically and intellectually. They are quick with the concepts of language and understand better so their potty training is faster. They learn how to dress and undress and they have better control than boys.</li><li>Every child is unique. Regardless of gender, potty training will be different for everyone. Each child will be potty trained in his/her own time and in his/her own way.</li><li>It is important to reward your child for achieving this milestone of being potty trained.</li></ul>

You might have to adapt different approaches to potty train your girl child and boy child.

breastfeeding health concerns

Following article(s) will help solve your concern.