children

Childhood obesity :The control is in your hand

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on February 26, 2018 9

When I was researching data about childhood obesity my hubby was doing an ecourse on pediatric nutrition. Sharing notes ,we realized childhood obesity like adult obesity ,doesn’t only depend on food.

Food choices are important

Amount of food is important.

But another thing which was staring us in the eye was lifestyle.

If you have read about the two hit theory regarding adult disease in my post

Mommy blame yourself.

You will understand the second trigger most is often lifestyle.

Childhood obesity important to be addressed because it’s a health hazard . When we teach our children to embrace their bodies and stop obsession with their weight and how they look .It’s important to be clear about healthy body image.

Just like focusing on how they look doesn’t help Not giving attention to the cause of the issue has lifetime implication.Obesity is unfortunately not a physical disease.It’s a psychological problem.Parents need to have a long hard look at themselves

Causes of childhood obesity is multiple and multifactorial.

Broad classification is possible if you insist on it.

2 major divisions

Exogenous :Environment ;lifestyle and psychosocial .Definitely more common

Genetic susceptibility
Endogenous :Endocrine disorders like hypothyroidism ,Prader -Willi syndrome ,single gene diseases (congenital leptin deficiency :leptin is your satiety hormone.

This sounds good while writing a paper.Definitely not useful while treating the problem.

Viruses ,gut microbes,excessive stress (second hit) are all under investigation.

Most promising results are with the reversible causes of obesity

They include :

Circadian rhythm
Sleep medications
Stress
Psychosocial
Sedentary behaviour
Lack of physical exercise
Dietary behaviour

Currently these are the focus of treatment as well as hocus pocus.

When children are obese in childhood their fat cells become fat.Even when they lose weight or fat from theses cells.The size of the cell remains the same.

Makes these children prone to weight gain.

From one year of age ,there is a difference in the rate of adipocyte development in obese and non obese children.

Problems and complications:

Snoring,daytime drowsiness
headache
Shortness of breathing
Binge eating
Limb or join pain
polyuria
menstrual irregularities .

When you gave birth ,you signed up for a lifelong battle.That to teach her /him to be healthy, wealthy and wise.

So if you are not at your best, weight wise,it’s important you take a look in th mirror.Make an action plan for yourself before you talk to your child.

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UBC day 7

Picky eater : When you need to worry

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on February 25, 2018 15

When my baby girl Rai was 6 months old we started her on all sorts of mashed food.From 6 months to 1 year it was a constant battle of experimental baby food. From 1 year to 2 years some more experiments and finally we have a balance.

Once while travelling my daughter refused to have anything ,except plain white rice and milk.Then I realized ,children have a difficult time adjusting to new food.Because….its NEW!

Imagine giving a vegetarian, a nice stir fried octopus for dinner.

Not a good idea right.

Baby’s growing up on milk have essentially a bland diet.

Veggies lack taste and texture when given boiled.

Fish chicken eggs can be smelly.

Their tender taste buds can’t handle spices.

They are fighting a battle too.

The only way to win is to persevere.

They need to learn to stop being afraid of food .To enjoy their food.Make the right choices.Making positive food choices early in life,helps them cope even away from home .

When will you call a child picky eater?

Picky eaters have strong food preferences. They have a persistent unwillingness to try new food.

Can it cause problems with nutritional status?

Yes it will cause nutritional deficiencies

50% of 19 to 24 month old children are picky eaters.Because of this , they will be avoiding micronutrient rich foods like fruits and veggies This will affect the growth of your child.

2 main problems

1)Failure to thrive .With physical and mental.development not upto the mark according to age .

2)If children develop unhealthy eating habits .This may lead to adult eating problem and health issues.

When you need to worry?

*If your child is less than 1 year:Height weight and developmental milestones need to be checked monthly.Because your baby grows ,even while you watch.The first year of life is very important.You worry, if there’s no significant positive change in the monthly assessment.

*If your child is more than 1-year-old :

Height needs to be checked every 6 months.

If child is not growing in height then that’s a cause for concern.Its a sign of chronic protein energy malnutrition.

Weight needs to be checked every 3 months .

If your child doesn’t gain weight or gains too much.Both is cause for concern.

No weight gain is due to lack of adequate dietary protein energy .

Excessive weight gain, gives rise to malnutrition of obesity.Where there is excess calories in the diet.But it lack important macro and micronutrient .

When your child shows signs of micronutrient deficiencies:

Paleness of body.
Repeated skin infections.
Has repeated cold and cough
Suffer from mouth ulcers etc.
Is cranky
Has little energy to play

When you don’t need to worry?

Baby is happy ,active with good growth.
Both height for age and weight for age is within normal limit.

What’s Neophobia?

Neophobia is the tendency of children to initially reject new or novel food.

You will have to give new food 10 to 16 times before they accept them.

Tips for parents before starting new food

Start new food 1 at a time.
Give gaps of 3 to 5 days before starting another new food .
New foods should be stopped in the event of diarrhea /vomiting /rashes.These may be due to food allergy.
During complementary feeding your baby will like softer and smoother textured foods.Gradually replace with thicker food items
Don’t give up.Just because your baby refuses something once don’t lose heart.Make it taste different. Make it look different .A variety of food tasting is important for babies to get a taste for it.

My baby girl started her animal protein journey with fish. She refused chicken for the longest time.But mutton she liked from a pretty young age( around one and a half years)

I didn’t touch chicken throughout my pregnancy. Did you know mothers diet in pregnancy determines a child’s food habit?

She loves her eggs too.Boiled fried or poached.

I have noticed for all animal proteins she likes crunchy which will then melt in the mouth (She loves a crunchy Ilish fry).Not chewy or oily.

Since she liked the crunchy texture and I burn stuff while cooking I went and bought an air fryer.I wrote about it here.

The airfryer keeps the taste intact and the food doesn’t lose its colour ,with a fraction of the calories.

Want Super tips to deal with fussy eaters?

Read my Ultimate guide to feeding your preschooler

If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)

Childhood obesity :The control is in your hand(part 3)

Childhood obesity : Healthy eating habits & You (part 5)

I am taking part in the #ubc #blogboost Ultimate blogging challenge with Blogchatter #DailyChatter

If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on February 23, 2018 37

You can’t make your child eat healthy!Your child likes only junk food.

You are worried about childhood obesity.What your child eats will not only help in developing their physical and mental health ,but also influence their health as adults.This is a problem which is more complex than just tempting him/ her with new recipes.

Healthy eating habits in children :How mothers can help

Did you know it’s not just what your child eats now, that’s to blame.It’s also your diet, during pregnancy,breastfeeding

and afterwards.

In this case, moms have all the power, to change the baby’s food choices.

When I was pregnant I wouldn’t eat chicken for the entire 9 months. I had nausea throughout my pregnancy and hated cooking.The smell of jeera ,garam masala made me want to puke.

But I still enjoyed fish ,eggs and mutton .As long as I didn’t cook them.

Veggies and fruits were always a large part of my diet .So was milk.

When I ate to keep healthy, I always remembered that these nutrients were building my baby one cell at a time.

Most of the child’s health and Immunity depends on food.But there was one more important reason to eat healthy.

What exactly does the mother’s diet do?

It does 3 important things

#Builds the flesh and blood baby

#Builds the immunity of the baby

#Builds the baby’s food choices.

Most attention is paid to the first two.Because they are unquestionably important .

What’s not discussed is the 3rd one.

Mommy’s complain of baby’s being picky eaters.But you have to recap ,what you loved having ,when you were pregnant.That’s how you can handle the picky eater baby now!

Sounds weird right?

How can a mother build a baby’s healthy taste in food ?

You have 2 full-proof tools, in your mommy tool box.Both are free .

#1 Choose healthy eating options during pregnancy

Your child develops her palate or food preferences in the womb.

Food odours are due to certain chemical components.

These compounds specially those with strong distinctive smell and taste ,are detected in the amniotic fluid.Garlic, cumin,other spices have distinctive chemicals which brand the amniotic fluids.

The developing baby swallows amniotic fluids in the womb.

Sense of taste and smell is functional during fetal life

Helps develop the food preferences after birth.

The mother’s diet is an interesting way of, building up food tastes in the unborn baby.

It’s one of the most important way to prepare the infant’s solid food choices later in life.

#2 Your breast milk and your food choices

After birth of baby ,what you eat as a mommy ,flavours the breast milk.

If you want your baby to have healthy eating habits,you must eat healthy .Include a variety of nutritious food in your diet.It is the best way to make your baby learn healthy eating ,even when breastfeeding

Prenatal and early postnatal flavor exposure helps baby develop his/her food preferences.

The child enjoys the different flavors in solid food more enthusiastically ,when complementary feed is started.

So mommy eat well.Before during and after pregnancy.

What did you eat most often when you were pregnant?

Did you eat junk food ?

Feeding your preschooler:Ultimate guide

Mother and child

Healthier mothers and babies:Mommy stay with me

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on February 6, 2018 63

Healthier mothers and babies is what everyone wants

When me and my sister where babies ,we grew up in daycare .Both of our parents worked and there was nobody to take care at home.

Mommy stay with me:Maternal seperation and baby health

Back then government didn’t give mother’s childcare leave.

Looking back ,my memories say growing up days were fun. No really horrible memories.Back then we missed our mom, but there was nothing she could do.We needed the money.

Fast forward to today.I am luckier.I didn’t have a full time job when my baby was born.And now my work has flexible timing and a better government policy of childcare, supporting it.

But even then I worry .When I have to take leave suddenly due to baby issues.It always sounds like an excuse.But all moms know, the most difficult thing in this world is to walk away from teary eyed little ones.

But the question is no longer just the babies immediate health.Your decision will change a little person’s life.

Baby’s health and mothers health are important parameters of health standards and improvement.

Government has expensive projects in place to make healthier mothers and babies.

But still we are haunted by the increasing number of mental and physical lifestyle diseases.

A few things are different for different socio economic classes.

India’s uncontrolled population explosion ,lack of strict birth control makes good healthcare facilities ,adequate nutrition, difficult for the large majority below the poverty level.Their problem has no solution ,till the people in charge understand that limited resources , and unlimited babies make for impossible situations.They make gullible votebanks ,but unproductive citizens

In a country where survival of babies is often the primary question,few have time to worry about their future physical and mental health.

But if you want a better tomorrow for your baby you may need to plan your today well.

What research says?

Healthy mothers have healthy babies.What you think too can affect your baby
Mothers nutrition and child’s nutrition both are important.Nutrition has a large role .Both undernutrition and over nutrition will cause malnutrition.There’s malnutrition of obesity to watch out for.
Stress levels during pregnancy can alter the stress response in the unborn child.
Childhood stresses can cause lifetime harm ,both psychologically and physically.

Your physical and mental health has a lot to do with your childhood.

Yes you already know this.

But did you know most of your adult diseases ,can be traced back to childhood?

Mother’s will sigh in exasperation. What else are we suppose to take care of?

Just blaming childhood stresses ,is but oversimplification.

The various researches show a 2 ‘HIT'(3) theory.

1st hit is a stressors in childhood .This cause changes at the cellular level and in your brain wiring.Your adaptation is good ,average or poor,

Presence or absence of a similarly potent stressor later .A cascade of neurochemical,neurohormonal, over -reaction.Because your brain is already sensitized you go into protective mode.

Result:

Metabolic diseases and mental health problems.

That’s scary ,but I am hopeful

Because this is good research .

Why You ask?

Someone is finally talking about it.Maybe things will change

Government of Italy has declared 22nd September “Fertility Day”.They want to encourage women to have children.They have a declining childbirth rate ,and an economic slump.But the Government gives inadequate support to working mothers and most private companies don’t have flexibility for working moms.

The research findings can help .A lot.

To help moms stand up for “work from home” policy.
To take jobs with flexible work hours.
To not have to explain why they want to be with their babies and compromise the career ladder.
For child right biggies to keep in mind ,for future recommendations and actions.
For corporations to take Corporate social responsibility to another level

Plus you are at risk, only if you face another episode of high chronic stress.So actively try to decrease stress
Teach children to cope positively with it.

Another good news is, since you know this ,you can have lifestyle habits in place to deal with it.

Yes you can beat the childhood

scars by practicing healthy lifestyle .

There’s a lot of science backing this up.Many studies has been done including one at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai .

What can this stress triggers do?

Obesity(2)
Diabetes
Hypertension
Metabolic dysfunction(3)
Hyperlipidemia
Muscle wasting disease
Depression

How does this happen?

Sress in early childhood causes change in muscle mitochondria.

(Mitochondria are the cellular organelles which help you generate ATP as energy currency for your body.)

Hypothalamic pituitary axis which controls stress has an altered response (3).

Stressors removed .Normal growth pattern.

Re-exposure to similar stressors later in life:Metabolic dysfunction ,physiological and emotional distress.

What are the early life stressors that can cause this?

Prenatal postnatal early childhood ,adolescent period are all susceptible.

Stressors may be:

Nutritional
Emotional
Physical
Sexual.

They may present as:

Starvation during famine and war

Maternal separation
Childhood neglect
Adverse parenting
Childhood physical or sexual abuse
Medical trauma

These stressors can alter the stress adaptation responses.

They are major risk factors for developing metabolic disorders (1)

With improved environment children can adapt themselves to these stressors .Growing up,they will be externally normal.But since these cellular changes have happened ,if exposed to chronic stress in later life ,metabolic and psychological problems can be precipitated .

Why does this happen?

Childhood stress reprograms your HPA axis (3)and your brain in general .

Some people adapt well due to good environment follow primary stress exposure.

But others may have maladaptive responses.This can cause inappropriately high levels of cortisol in your blood during exposure to chronic stress as adults.

The pancreatic B cells may be lower in number following childhood stress adaptation.

What this means ?

If you face high level of chronic stress later in life your brain and hormones can over react.

Putting you at risk of obesity diabetes, hypertension and depression-anxiety disorders.(4)

Maternal separation during early life disturbs neuroendocrine, neurochemicals and behavioral changes in adults.

Maternal seperation can be variable .From 40 minutes to 8 hours.Which period will be traumatic for the child is difficult to predict.

Abuse in childhood and adolescence ,can cause type 2 diabetes,food addiction and significantly heavier adult women(6).

What can you do to protect yourself & your child?

Don’t worry during pregnancy.

Related

5 Tests you should do when you are planning a baby.

Alcohol and pregnancy what you should know

Always work actively to lower your stress levels.

Teach children coping skills through play.

Exercise:Low levels of physical activity is seen to increase and precipitate theses metabolic problems.A good physical exercise schedule protects against development of these metabolic disorders.

Avoid high calorie diet .Swinging insulin levels can make you prone to 2 Diabetes ,obesity,depression,anxiety and a host of other problems.

Practice mental health exercises.

All moms deserve to spend time with their babies.All babies need their mothers.

Mompreneur’s biz focus :Jewellery making & Basudha

But to make this possible, we need the help of society ,government and the corporate sector.

Everyone has a mother and you are what you are because your mom cared .

What do you think we should do to change the situation?

Are you a mom struggling with work-biz-home?Share your story with me in the comments below.

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India:37113

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References:

1)Chrousos GP. Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2009) 5:374–8110.1038/nrendo.2009.106 [PUBMED]

2) Stress and obesity/metabolic syndrome in childhood and adolescence.

Int J Pediatr Obes. 2011 Sep;6 Suppl 1:21-8. doi: 10.3109/17477166.2011.615996.Pervanidou P¹, Chrousos GP.

3)Early-Life Stress, HPA Axis Adaptation, and Mechanisms Contributing to Later Health Outcomes.Jayanthi Maniam, Christopher Antoniadis, and Margaret J. Morris[PubMed]

4)Nemet D, Dolfin T, Litmanowitz I, Shainkin-Kestenbaum R, Lis M, Eliakim A.Evidence for exercise-induced bone formation in premature infants. Int J Sports Med (2002) 23:82–510.1055/s-2002-20134[PubMed]

5)Franks PW, Ekelund U, Brage S, Wong MY, Wareham NJ. Does the association of habitual physical activity with the metabolic syndrome differ by level of cardiorespiratory fitness? Diabetes Care(2004) 27:1187–9310.2337/diacare.27.5.1187 [PubMed]

6)Mason SM, Flint AJ, Field AE, Austin SB, Rich-Edwards JW. Abuse victimization in childhood or adolescence and risk of food addiction in adult women. Obesity (Silver Spring) (2013) 21:E775–8110.1002/oby.20500 [PubMed]

7)Mela V, Llorente-Berzal A, Diaz F, Argente J, Viveros MP, Chowen JA.Maternal deprivation exacerbates the response to a high fat diet in a sexually dimorphic manner. PLoS One (2012)7(11):e48915.10.1371/journal.pone.0048915 [PubMed]

8)Masuzaki H, Flier JS. Tissue-specific glucocorticoid reactivating enzyme, 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11 beta-HSD1) – a promising drug target for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.Curr Drug Targets Immune Endocr Metabol Disord (2003) 3:255–6210.2174/1568008033340135 [PubMed]

9)Mindfulness meditation

10)Chronic stress:32 simple solutions

Alcohol and pregnancy:What you need to know

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 28, 2018 6

Alcohol and pregnancy is a dangerous combination.

If you have any amount of alcohol during pregnancy,let your doctor know.

Alcohol and pregnancy:Why it is dangerous

Many online advice veers towards controversial in this regard.Alcohol is treated as a teratogen by both pediatrician and obstetrician .This information was largely unavailable or ignored for the most of last century.This had a lot to do with government regulation changes and the confusion created by people who promoted moderate alcohol drinking.

Just think would you give your newborn a glass of beer or any other alcoholic beverage?Your answer would be a shocked no.

Your answer would be a shocked no.

But if you are drinking when planning a baby ,or when you are already pregnant.That’s what you are doing.

What happens when you drink ?

When you drink,the alcohol absorbed from your stomach crosses the blood brain barrier.It will then reach your unborn baby.

That’s the main problem.Your baby will taste everything you have.

It will affect the heart ,the brain,the baby muscles,cartilages,everything.

Fetal alcohol syndrome :

It is a collection of problems that your baby can have if you drink during your pregnancy.

Problems range from:

Developmental,
learning
behaviour and social

Is there a safe amount to drink ?

Not really.

The data for this is vague.What’s definite is the more you drink ,the worse is the damage.

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This study about moderate drinking in pregnancy found increased risk for children’s early-onset-persistent conduct problem

Babies born to mothers who drink have certain developmental issues:

Growth problems: be smaller than other newborns
Abnormal facial features:small eyes, flat upper lip
Neurological problems:microcephaly
Cardiac septal defects
Minor joint ,limb problems

Problems in Toddlers whose mother drank during pregnancy:

Hyperactive
May have difficulty following simple instructions
Delayed developmental milestones
Unusually stranger friendly

School going children may show the following problems:

Reading and learning challenges
Difficulty with being attentive
Behavioural issues

Teenagers and adults with FAS:

Mental health challenges:Anxiety, depression
Difficulty with authority ,at school and law
Chance of substance abuse increases :Increased risk of alcoholism,drug abuse,smoking

Do FAS effects go away?

Unfortunately no.It just changes how it presents.Every time you don’t drink during pregnancy you are giving your unborn child a gift.

So if you suspect FAS, how can you help?

Monitoring and early intervention can help your child.The earlier your doctor knows the more help baby will get.This can prevent adult problems.

Try to provide support at school.The child may need special education aides.

Social support is also very important .This can go a long way in preventing depression and mental health issues.

How can you prevent FAS?

Don’t drink during pregnancy.Seriously ,prevention is best.

If you used to drink stop now.The exact spectrum of problems will be a sum of how much ,when and how long you have been drinking.If you smoke or use any other substance then the effect can be fatal.

You can join a de-addiction group.

Visit a counsellor.Ask your family/spouse to help

Practice mindfulness meditation.

Small steps can go a long way in keeping your baby healthy.What is your opinion about this.Comment below to let me know.

This post is a part of Dailychatter DAY 12 # Half marathon at The Blog chatter

Related

Planning a baby: 5 Tests you must do

Pregnancy and Zika

Effect of alcohol on ear and mouth

Disclaimer: This information should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your physician. This is meant to help and spread awareness.There may be variations in treatment that your physician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

References:

1)Moderate alcohol drinking in pregnancy increases risk for children’s persistent conduct problems: causal effects in a Mendelian randomisation study.

Murray J1, Burgess S2, Zuccolo L3,4, Hickman M3, Gray R5, Lewis SJ 3 (Pubmed)

2)Prenatal alcohol exposure and childhood behavior at age 6 to 7 years: dose-response effect.

Sood B1, Delaney-Black V, Covington C, Nordstrom-Klee B, Ager J, Templin T, Janisse J, Martier S, Sokol RJ.(Pubmed)

3)Fetal alcohol syndrome. How you can help prevent it.

Bratton RL (Pubmed)

4)Recognition and prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome.Floyd RL1, O’Connor MJ, Sokol RJ, Bertrand J, Cordero JF.(Pubmed)

5)Do attitudes and knowledge predict at-risk drinking among Russian women?Balachova T1, Bard D1, Bonner B1, Chaffin M1, Isurina G2, Tsvetkova L2, Volkova E3.(Pubmed)

6)A Review of the History of Attitudes Toward Drinking in Pregnancy.

Warren KR1.(Pubmed)

How to continue breast-feeding when working

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 21, 2018 8

Can you continue breast-feeding when working

This question worries all women wHo want to have a baby and still not give up a great career.

In today’s world where women are working hard to break glass ceilings, you are faced with difficult choices.

Some people don’t have this choice. Losing an income is not an option. Baby care requires money.
The most difficult one is when you are breastfeeding.

If your baby is more than 6 months old then ,weaning starts .You have less of a worry.
But what about if baby is 2 months 3 months 4 or 5 months.

In today’s fast paced life even babies are hurried.
Government benefits for women are better.But corporate India gives you a maximum of 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

Whatever the mother’s emotion, those who are working face the tough choice of giving up their job (often economically not possible) or weaning their babies off breast milk prematurely.

Rarely women may have sympathetic bosses with exceptional maternity benefits and enjoy bonding with their little ones for the first 6 month of life with no worry.
More often that’s not the case.
Corporate India looses women in the middle and top management positions because moms really can’t choose between a baby and climbing the career ladder.
Men surprisingly never have to face this particular choice.
Recently I read an article where a woman in a senior place in a bank talks about fertility leave and maternity benefits ,she had enjoyed in a top multinational bank in India.

My top 5 wishes for moms who want to work and take care of their babies.

Work from home option
Flexible working hours
Child care leaves without losing out on promotions and increments
Creche at workplaces (Even fathers will be benefitted)

Since these wishes will need some time to be fulfilled .

Few tips for breastfeeding moms who work:

Ideally infants should be exclusively breast-fed till 6 months of age.
EBF or exclusive breast-feeding means only mommy milk.No juice, water, nothing.
I am writing about this, because I was a mom who had to leave her 2 month old to join work (I had very little maternity benefit as I was a temp then).

I share the following tips to help you and your baby .If you face a challenge of continuing breast-feeding while working,take heart there are ways.

Top tips to breastfeed even after joining work:

1) Invest in a good automatic breast pump. The manual one is not so great.Use a breast pump to express your breast milk.

Before joining work practice expressing milk at home .Leave child with caregiver for short trials to gradually adjust baby to bottle .

Continue breast-feeding at other times.That acts as a good stimuli for a great milk flow.

Relax,listen to music ,eat healthy.Don’t forget the right amount calorie and nutrient supplementation. (Will be writing about this)

2) You can refrigerate at temperature of 4 to 8 degree Celsius in baby safe sterile feeding bottle .Express and store in the amount that your baby takes per feed.

3) 1 hour before each feed place the bottle in a water bath.This helps the milk come to normal temp.Breast milk if heated in a microwave will get curdled.So no heating.

4) You can the ask your family member or care giver, whoever is taking care of baby ,to feed your baby every time she cries for feed.Its better to be baby led than forceful feeding.

5) Remember to train them to always wash hands with an antiseptic hand wash, before feeding baby.

6) Always throw away residual milk after feed.

7) Don’t reuse bottle after a feed.Only used sterile bottles for every feed.

How to clean the feeding bottle?

Separate all parts of the feeding bottle.
Feeding bottles should be sterilized in a microwave .You can also use a steam sterilizer or steam it over a stove top.

Ideally feeding bottles should be of food grade glassware microwave safe,BPA free .

Never add excessive cleaning solution.One drop in 5 litre of water.More than this there will be detergent residue which is bad for the baby.

If not able to sterilize bottle immediately after a feed follow 3 steps:

Throw away the residual milk.
Rinse thoroughly under running water .
This gets rid of the milk smell and the residual milk.
Following, up with clean water.
Sterilize it when you have time.

Feeding kit ,my favourites:

1)My favourite bottles are Chicco glass feeding bottles .

2)The Philips Avent Single Electric Comfort Breast Pump (*affiliate link) was a thoughtful gift from my sister

3)Steam sterilizer

Always sit comfortably with a good back support while expressing milk.

Don’t forget breast care and hygiene .

Moisturize nipple (Use Nipcare) after every feed or expression helps prevents drying and cracks

Tell me your experience. .What’s your opinion about women having to choose between baby and career.

How can we help break this glass ceiling?

This is a part #Dailychatter Day 3 theblogchatter.com

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Disclaimer:

This article is meant to help and inform.Always consult your doctor for personalized recommendation.

children

Broad classification is possible if you insist on it.

They include :

Problems and complications:

Sharing is good Karma!

When will you call a child picky eater?

2 main problems

When you need to worry?

When your child shows signs of micronutrient deficiencies:

When you don’t need to worry?

What’s Neophobia?

Tips for parents before starting new food

Sharing is good Karma!

What exactly does the mother’s diet do?

How can a mother build a baby’s healthy taste in food ?

Sharing is good Karma!

Healthier mothers and babies is what everyone wants

What research says?

Why You ask?

What can this stress triggers do?

How does this happen?

What are the early life stressors that can cause this?

Stressors may be:

They may present as:

Why does this happen?

What can you do to protect yourself & your child?

Sharing is good Karma!

Alcohol and pregnancy is a dangerous combination.

What happens when you drink ?

Problems range from:

Is there a safe amount to drink ?

Babies born to mothers who drink have certain developmental issues:

Problems in Toddlers whose mother drank during pregnancy:

School going children may show the following problems:

Teenagers and adults with FAS:

Do FAS effects go away?

So if you suspect FAS, how can you help?

How can you prevent FAS?

1)Moderate alcohol drinking in pregnancy increases risk for children’s persistent conduct problems: causal effects in a Mendelian randomisation study.

2)Prenatal alcohol exposure and childhood behavior at age 6 to 7 years: dose-response effect.

5)Do attitudes and knowledge predict at-risk drinking among Russian women?Balachova T1, Bard D1, Bonner B1, Chaffin M1, Isurina G2, Tsvetkova L2, Volkova E3.(Pubmed)

6)A Review of the History of Attitudes Toward Drinking in Pregnancy.

Warren KR1.(Pubmed)

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Can you continue breast-feeding when working

My top 5 wishes for moms who want to work and take care of their babies.

Few tips for breastfeeding moms who work:

Top tips to breastfeed even after joining work:

How to clean the feeding bottle?

If not able to sterilize bottle immediately after a feed follow 3 steps:

Feeding kit ,my favourites:

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