GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS OF NEWBORN BABIES
1. Exclusive breast feeding for 6 months. No other liquid including water is required.
2. Do not ever bottle feed your baby since this is associated with many problems like –
increased incidence of respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, dental caries,difficult weaning
and its complications, oral thrush, and so on.
3. Honey, ‘JanamGhutti’, gripe water etc. should not be given to the newborn baby as is a ritual
in certain parts of the country.
4. ‘Kajal’ application in the eyes, Talcum powder on the body is not recommended.
5. Till such time the umbilical cord falls off, please give a sponge bath to the baby, after that
the baby can be given a bath.
6. Oil massage is good for the baby and recent recommendations support it. You may massage
your baby even upto 3 to 4 times a day, but it is suggested that you wait till the baby is
about one month old before you start. You may use coconut or olive oil for the massage, and
do it softly. We suggest that you do the massage yourself and do not employ a professional.
7. Keep the baby warm. A rough guideline is that the temperature of the hands , feet and
tummy should be same. You may keep the room temperature around 25 to 30 degrees
centigrade. Clothe the baby as per the weather. Remember that if undercovering the baby
can cause hypothermia, overclothing the baby especially in summers can also make the baby
very uncomfortable including causing fever and decreased feeding.
8. Use of diapers should be restricted to social visits, cotton nappies may be used at home.
Baby should be promptly cleaned after urine or stool has been passed, else it may lead to a
diaper rash.When cleaning the buttocks after the baby has soiled a nappy, please be very
gentle, it is advisable to use a very soft, wet cloth or cotton and dab the area in the initial
stages.
9. Pacifiers are not recommended.
10. Please do not allow friends and relatives to handle the baby since repeated handling,
touching increases the chance of baby picking up an infection. Baby should be handled only
when necessary and proper hand washing or alcohol rub( sanitizer) should be used before
touching the baby.
11. All babies should be immunised as per the recommended immunisation schedule of the
country they live in.
12. Please take your baby his/her paediatrician for regular visits as recommended by him.
13. Keep the baby away from crowded places and people who have any kind of infection,
remember babies have very low immunity and pick up infection very soon.
14. Breast feeding mothers must take good diet and also adequate calcium in the diet as well as
supplements till the time they breast feed their baby.
15. There is no scientific data to suggest that if the mother takes a particular kind of food, it may
cause colic in the baby hence mother can take what she wants.
16. Breast feeding mothers must consult their doctor before taking any medication to ascertain
that it is safe in breast feeding.
If you have any other queries please post in the query corner