Child Birth

Advisable intakes for the Mother:

On child birth
Add little kasturi to one betal leaf and eat so that all dirt comes out

Navarathna Medicine for mother
Dry fry and make powder of dry ginger, pepper, thippili, surul jeera, kanda thippili, chittarattai, akkarai, big jeera and athimadhuram

For first 10 days – for the mother
Remove the skin of ginger, crush and put in water
When water clears, add palm candy and take
This would heal the wounds and clear the stomach

Upto 40 days – for the mother
Rasam of pepper and jeera [without tamarind upto 7 days]
Tender brinjal or pudal or avarai ghee fried
One time rice, afternoon chapatti, evening two dosa, night kanji
Water should be dry ginger boiled and cooled
Take good amount of betal leaves with kottai pakku powder & Lime
Take oil bath every alternate day
Add to the oil poondu, pepper, chillis, ginger, jeera; and heat before applying on body
Take the navarathna medicine with palm candy

On days when no oil bath, boil poondu, crush, add mustard and boil a little. Take this water to get cure of all illness
Weight

The normal birth weight should be 2.5 to 3.5 kg. During the first 10 days of the child's birth, the child loses weight and around 15 days, the child starts gaining weight. At 6th month it should double, say 5 to 7 kgs. and at the 12th, the child should be around 10 kgs. In two years, he or she should be four times, i.e. 10 to 14 kg. At three years, the child should be 15/16 kgs. There is need to keep a monthly watch on weight of the child

Height

The height at birth should be 20 to 21" and it should in­crease at the rate of 1" every month. At one year it should be around 30" and later on it should increase at half inch per month. At 2 years the height should be 35" and at 3 years it should be 38 to 39". During the period 3 to 10 years, the child should put more weight than height. After 10 years, the height would again in­crease, this time more rapidly till puberty, i.e. the onset of reproductive life.

Head measurement

The head measurement, i.e. the circumference in the new born should be 13 to 14"; at 6 months 15", at 1 year 18-19" and at 2 years 20". If it is more or less, consult the doctor. The brain in the head is surrounded by a fluid called meningis. If the circumference is more, it means more of fluid, which is a cause for concern, i.e. meningitis.

Chest measurement

The chest measurement at birth should be 12 -13" and at year end it shiould equal head measurement. At five years it should be 2" more than the head. The lungs are surrounded by plural fluid and the heart is surrounded by pericardium fluid. Both lungs and the heart occupy our chest portion. The circumference of chest therefore indicates the well being of the both these crucial human organs. If the circumference is more, it could mean collection of more fluid and needs check up.

Breast feeding

Mothers can start breast feeding right within the first hour after normal delivery and within 4 to 6 hours in case of caesarian delivery, with some support, if the mother needs it. Babies should be fed exclusively on breast milk for the first six months. It is important to feed the baby on demand, day and night, whenever the baby appears hungry. The more the baby sucks the mother’s breast, the more milk gets produced.

Breast milk is the ideal food for babies for the first six months of their lives. It protects the babies in ways that no other food can equal.

ü Breast milk is free and instantly available
ü Breast milk provides all nutrients a baby needs
ü It protects babies from illness and allergies
ü It provides immunological benefits for the baby’s life time. The cholostrum, the thick yellowish milk, which is produced during the first few days of child’s birth, is full of anti bodies. It protects babies from infections. It stores vitamin A and protein to satisfy baby’s nutritional needs. The breast milk contains adequate water and upto 4 months of the child, no extra water need be given to them.
ü Till the mothers give breast milk, they get the benefit of natural contraceptive and there is a natural family planning for them during the period.
ü Breast milk has also more benefits such as it is most sterile, easy to digest, contains maximum vitamins and minerals.
ü It promotes a close bond between the mother and the baby. The child getting the mothers milk gets the psychological support and a sense of security.
ü Milk deprived children starve from mother's warmth and develop personality problem over the period.
ü It makes the child more intelligent

So don’t neglect to breast feed your baby. If you do, you would be depriving your baby of these benefits for the rest of its life. Mothers can give breast milk as long as they have milk in them and it is very preferable

After six months, introduce home based complementary foods but continue breast feeding upto the age of 2 years.

For increasing Mother’s Milk

Grind a handful of bitter gourd leaves in to a fine paste and apply on breasts
Take ½ tsp ground cinnamon / lavangappattai and take with milk at night few days. It also delays onset of menstruation after child birth
Mix 1 tsp of cumin powder with warm milk; add honey. Take after dinner for a few days
Eat cooked unripe papaya frequently
Boil 2 tsp saunf in barley water and take thrice a day
Warm the leaves of castor plant and apply over the breast as poultice
Massage the breast with warm castor oil frequently
Crush poondu and fry in ghee and grind and take with navarathna medicine. Take betal leaves as above and go to sleep

For Stopping Mother’s Milk

Tie warmed leaves of Dhatura / Oomathai on the breasts
Tie handful of jasmine flowers on the breast and leave it for few hours. Repeat few days
Take 2 tsp of toor dal, grind and apply on breast

For relief from swelling on the breasts

Warm betal leaf over a flame and tie it on to the affected spot

Cracks in the nipple

Apply castor oil locally

Sterilisation of bottles

In case for some reason, the child is given milk in bot­tles, it is necessary that the bottle is sterilised. Sterilisa­tion should be done as under:

Place 4 clean bottles, 4 vatis and 4 spoons in clean vessel containing water. Keep this vessel on fire and allow the water to boil for at least 10 minutes. Then put in the water, the nipple and the bottle caps and boil the water for two minutes more. Now put off the fire and leave the vessel covered and allow the water to cool. Use one set at a time. Boil the sets again when all have been used. Proper sterilisation is a must in order to prevent infection.

Feeding schedule

The feeding schedule should be as under:

From birth
Breast milk is the best milk. If mother's milk is sufficient, there is no need for any other milk. If not sufficient, supplement it with other milk upto 2 months. You can opt for 3 hourly feed or demand feed.
3rd month
Supplement mother’s milk with fruit juice including tomato juice. Start with 2-3 teaspoon full and gradually increase it to 3 ounces.
4th month
Supplement with cereals like farex etc. Also dal water
5th month
Supplement with vegetable soup, mashed banana, thick rice kanji, ragi, curd, mashed/seived vegetables
6th month
You can feed Kheer, custard, biscuits, fruits, popcorn flour
7-12 months
You can give Soft rice, dal, kichidi, chapati soaked in dal or milk, bread soaked in milk, mashed vegetables, mashed potato, etc
After 1 year
Gradually introduce full diet which family takes. Introduce solids in small quantities, say, one at a time.

Milk preparation

The dilution of milk Vs. water should be as under wherever milk is given:

1 month
Cow/buffallow milk Vs. Water = 1 : 1
Approximate quantity 2 to 3 oz.; 3 hourly schedule or on demand
2 months
Cow 2: 1; Bufallow 1 1/2 : 1; 3 to 4 oz. 3-4 hourly
3 months
Cow 3:1; Bufallow 2 : 1; 4 to 5 oz. 3 to 4 hourly
4-6 months
Cow undiluted; bufallow 3:1; 5-8 oz; 4 hourly
6-12 months
Both milk undiluted; 7-8 oz; 5-8 hourly
Add 1 teaspoon of sugar for 4 oz. of milk.
If powdered milk, make milk by addinig one measure of powder with 1 oz. of water.

One better substitute to cow’s milk is coconut milk. Children can even be given three four pieces of coconut every day if they come to chewing age.

Physical Growth

The physical milestones of a child should be as under:

1 month:
holds head and raises the chest; but you need to hold his head
2 months
can turn and lie on stomach, can hold his head
4 months
holds the head steadily in sitting position
5 months
changes from side to side, takes hand to mouth
6 months
sits with support, holds something in the hand
7 months
sits without support for considerable time
8 months
crawls; stands with support
9 months
progress in all the above activities
10 months
talks a few words
1 year
stands for considerable time; walks with support; tries to eat & handle spoon
1 1/2 yr
walks without support
2-3 yrs
bladder control; try to tie shoe laces unsuccessfully
3 years
runs; can sing, can scribble with pencil, can try to wear clothes

Mental growth


From day 1
the child can know the mother by her smell
1st month
can see people and shaddows
2nd month
can recognise mother, can smile, can recognise sound, takes interest in environment
3rd month
can look at things and would make efforts to grab them
4th month
can turn sides while lying down, can turn to look where the sound is coming from, can look at faces and smile back, can understand the movements taking place around him / her, can hear sounds and show excitement
6th month
can recognise family members, possibly cry seeing strangers
8th month
can recognise himself in the mirror
10th month
would cry upon being intimidated
1st year
can understand instructions and can talk in words
1 ½ years
can talk fluently

Consult the Doctor if

4 months
does not smile even after the mother prods the child
does not look towards light
does not turn to the side wherefrom sound is made
7th month
does not switch toy from one hand to another
11th month
does not turn side while lying down
unable to stand on own legs
unable to hold small items
14th month
does not walk even with support
18th month
does not throw ball
unable to say words like Papa, Mama, Dada, etc.