‘Being active and weight gain are signs of a healthy newborn’

Doctors explain health issues commonly faced by newborns

Explaining the health issues often faced by newborns, doctors who spoke at the The Hindu’s Wellness webinar on Sunday stressed on the need for parents to not unnecessarily panic. They said a thumb rule to know if a newborn is doing largely fine is to check if the baby is being active and gaining weight.

The webinar on “Knowing Your Newborns Better” was organised in collaboration with Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore. Kanagagiri and Asvatha, consultant neonatologists, Naruvi Hospitals, and Murugesan, assistant professor, neonatology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer), Puducherry, took part in the discussion and explained to the viewers the key issues faced by newborns and when to seek medical assistance.

Dr. Murugesan said some of the red flags that required medical attention were lack of feeding, colour changes in the body, decreased activity, continuous and noisy hyperventilation and fever.

Dr. Kanagagiri highlighted the importance of breastfeeding and explained the things to notice to ensure that the baby was feeding in the right manner. Pointing out that it was common to feed vasambu (sweet flag) or gripe water to newborns, he said these were found to cause problems for children on certain occasions. He said it was best to stick to just breastfeeding at least for the first six months.

Dr. Asvatha spoke on high-risk newborns and neonatal intensive care units (NICU). He said it was important to choose a hospital with adequate NICU infrastructure if the newborn falls in the high-risk category due to various reasons. She also explained how jaundice was quite common among newborns and how around 5% to 10% would require treatment for jaundice. For the full discussion, visit: https://bit.ly/3cujyfh