Babies are most vulnerable just after birth. They may be born with certain congenital conditions or may contract infections easily. If you are a new parent, you should be aware of the common health problems that babies encounter and how to tackle them so that you can take care of your baby in the best way possible.
Newborn babies do not get contracted by any sickness if babies are breastfed and people around the baby maintain the cleanliness hygiene regularly. But in India 3 out of 100 babies fall sick.
Let’s understand what the common illnesses are suffered by new-born babies
Preterm Birth/ Low Weight Rate
One of the common ailments can be caused by early delivery of the baby which is also termed as premature also the body weight of the new-born baby is quite low, meaning low birth rate. In India around 40% new-born babies weigh less than 2.5 specially babies weighing 2 or 1.5 have ailment regarding premature or low birth weight. The temperature maintenance mechanism of these babies has some problems. These babies have problems while breastfeeding, they also tend to have jaundice and these babies need to be taken into NICU for extra care. Almost 15% of babies in India are premature babies and they require NICU care.
Infections
Babies have very low immunity power and they are more prone to infections. Our hands and clothes cause infections. Therefore, it’s important that people surrounding the baby should maintain cleanliness, wash and scrub their hands before encountering the baby.
There are different types of infection like pneumonia, blood infections, brain infection etc. And if these infections are contracted by the babies then they must be admitted to NICU. and it’s very common illness.
Jaundice
The most common illness among the babies around the world is jaundice. Jaundice in babies is caused due to liver immature. which is called physiological jaundice.
Hardly 5-6% cases have serious jaundice where the babies undergo phototherapy. Or it gets cured in 3-4 days. But if the mother’s blood group has -ve or o+ blood group, then even if the baby has +ve blood group or A and B blood group at that time babies’ red blood cells break down faster. And because of this breakdown the jaundice is more severe.
In short babies born to mothers having -ve blood group and O+ blood group need to be taken care.
Earlier blood transfusion was the way to save these babies but now Because of the better ICU treatments and with phototherapy these babies are cured within 3-5 days.
Difficulty in breathing
Surfactant level in lungs decreases which leads to breathing problems and because of that these babies must be kept on a ventilator. In medical term this condition is called as RDS (Respiratory Distress Syndrome)
Birth Defects
3-5% babies are born with birth defects which is called congenital disorder. Around about 40-50% of these diseases are detected in the earlier stage of pregnancy at the time of sonography. All diseases are not detected on sonography. 3-5% babies suffer from congenital anomaly wherein majority of babies have heart and brain ailments. These kids need to be admitted to NIC.
Most often, health problems and diseases in newborns resolve on their own with time as babies get stronger and learn to cope. But parents should be very careful. Take your baby for regular check-ups to the paediatrician, maintain hygiene. If your baby has any discomfort, please consult your doctor.
