Breast milk is all that the baby needs for the first six months, at least. But there is a noticeable reduction in women who are breast feeding in the developed countries. About 80% of women are not breast feeding their children. In India breast feeding rate has reduced to 30%, which is a serious threat to the development of a Nation. To overcome this problem Indian Government took an action and Adopted IMS act in 1992.

Breastfeeding helps better health for mothers and children alike. Breast feeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Increased breastfeeding can save more than 800 000 lives in the universe every year, the majority being children under 6 months. It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborns, before they are able to digest more diverse foods.

Empower parents, enable breast feeding:

Colostrum also known as beestings or first milk is loaded with calories and infection-fighting proteins. However mature milk which is secreted after colostrum also contains the following:-

1. Lactose: Matured human milk contains 6.9% to 7.2% carbohydrate, calculated as lactose. This source of energy is essential for the development of the brain. It also stimulates the intestinal microbiota

2. Lipids: Breast milk contains on an average of 3 to 5% It include fats, oils, waxes, certain vitamins (such as A, D, E and K) and hormones. This sources of energy is essential for the development of central nervous system and the retina. It is also essential in the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.

3. Nucleotides: mother’s milk contains on an average of 1.2 mg. 100 kJ^-1 It is an organic molecule that is the unit of DNA. This is helpful for the development and maturation of the intestinal tract. This also aids for proper function of immune system.

4. Vitamins and minerals (0.2%): It is the development of whole body including cells, bones, brain, vision, skin, hair, immune system and nervous system.

5. Probiotics: Breast milk contains on an average of 10⁶ g^-1 probiotic, which are live bacteria and yeasts that are essential for digestive system. This sources of energy improves intestinal microbial balance and reinforce the defence mechanisms.

6. Proteins: on an average 0.8% to 0.9% of proteins is available in the breast milk which is essential for tissues. Proteins are aids in the development of important enzymes, hormones and antibodies.

7. Other benefits: Facilitates proper dental and jaw development. Breastfed babies have higher IQ than who fed with other milk substituents.

The benefits of breast feeding are both physical and psychological for mother, child and their family. Newborn deserves the best Nutrition, Improved Survival, Optimum Development and Healthy Life. Breast feeding can do this miracle!

Mrs. D.A. Kalpaja
Chairperson
Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre

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A New Year is beginning, when conversations about goals and resolutions abound. What if you could have a different conversation with your children this year that gave them tools on how to choose what will contribute to their future and empower them to know what they know?

As the mother of three, two now into adulthood, I can remember the times when at least one of my children would come home with a school assignment on New Year’s resolutions. These assignments were not fun for my kids or me. I had never liked  goal setting, it never made sense when it was asked of me and my kids had a similar point of view about these assignments.

How can you start a conversation with your kids about what they would like to create for this year and beyond? What question can you ask your children to create a future of possibilities instead of barriers to the conversation? Start by talking to them about having targets instead of setting goals. Ask your children, “what are your targets for this year?”

The problem with resolutions or goals is that they set in place an immovable decisions about the future when in actuality our futures are full of change. These decisions allow for very little wiggle room and if your children are anything like mine then you know wiggling is something they like to do often.

Goals lead to judgments. Judgement of whether you have achieved the goal or failed. They are mostly a measure of failure. A goal will stop you from seeing anything  greater or different.  You cannot even invasion anything that does not match the point of view of your goal.

When you look at the energy of a target it is different, less fixed, it has more wiggle room. It does not lock you down. A target gives you the energy of what you are aiming for and you can always be checking with how you are doing towards achieving the target.If you want to change it, move it or something really different. Targets are more creative, you can shoot past a target which could lead you to something even more fun. If you get close to your targets you are still creating it, with a goal you can only judge you have not met it.

Children’s futures are full of possibilities. My children’s realities are full of ideas, some they created, some that become uninteresting and some that are yet to actualize. Their ideas were and are fabulous and all over the place. “Mom I’m going to be a surgeon who works on babies in the womb” “Mom I am going to make the first flying car” “Mom I am going to animate Disney movies.” “Mom let’s get an elephant.” “Mom, I’m going to be a mermaid.”

If your target is being a Mermaid then you can play with how to be one. You can put your sister in a bathtub and have her drink salt water. (This is one way to become a mermaid that I did not know of). Now if it does not work and it is a target, then you and not wrong just because you still have legs, you can keep shooting for it. You can find out there are actual professional mermaid jobs at amusement parks that actually pay well and now you have a new mermaid target. If this is a goal then you are left judging your untailed legs and your sister for making you drink salt water.

Once you have the conversations going you can ask also ask your kids, “if you choose this what will your future be like in a year, a week, in 10 years? So they can begin to know what they know about creating the future they desire.

These are wonderful tools to have and the more your kids use them the bigger the muscle of knowing what their choices will create becomes. What a gift to have this as a kid! To be able to trust your knowing and to know that choice creates awareness!

The most important thing you can give your kids is the understanding that their point of view is okay.

~ Gary Douglas, Conscious Parenting Conscious Kids

Dr. Glenna Rice
glennarice.com
accessconsciousness.com/drglennarice

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The ECMO Unit of Narayana Health City added another feather to its cap by saving a newborn baby with multiple life-threatening conditions. The baby was suffering from Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) and neonatal sepsis and was treated using ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation).

Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS) is a medical condition that affects newborn babies. It occurs when the baby passes meconium (the baby’s first stool) in the womb  and inhales it into his/ her lungs. Inhalation of meconium can result in severe breathing difficulty. According to medical literature, despite conventional management 10% of babies born with MAS, tend to have fatal outcomes. Neonatal sepsis is a type of infection in the blood which occurs due to bacteria. While the general incidence of sepsis is 14% the mortality owing to it is around 25%.

In this case the meconium aspiration syndrome was compounded by neonatal sepsis making his condition very critical. Due to this, the baby started developing respiratory failure.   At Narayana Health City the baby was immediately admitted to the NICU and was put on ventilator support. However, as the baby’s condition did not improve, the doctors advised ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). ECMO is a life-sustaining intervention for patients with heart or lung failure.  It works by artificially removing the carbon dioxide and oxygenating the blood.

Dr. Riyan Shetty, Head of Extracorporeal Life Support, Narayana Health City,  says, “While we have had 100% survival using ECMO for meconium aspiration syndrome, this case was unique and challenging because the newborn also had an infection. The worldwide results of ECMO to save the lives of newborns with infections have been dismal. According to international data the success rate is only 48%. However, with our expert team we were able to successfully treat and save the child.”

“Though life threatening, through timely intervention the mortality rate due to MAS and neonatal sepsis can be brought down drastically. Further, the right infrastructure equipped with capabilities to provide artificial ventilation, nitric oxide and a well-trained multidisciplinary medical team are also key to save children born with such complex conditions.” added Dr.Rajiv Aggarwal, Consultant & HOD Pediatrics, Narayana Health City. Doctors  instituted ECMO on the baby through cannula in the neck. The extracorporeal circuit maintained the functioning of the baby’s heart, lungs and other organs allowing the lungs and heart to recover. In 96 hours, the newborn’s lungs had recovered and he was weaned off ECMO. The baby was discharged in 16 days.

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Children are constantly growing, changing, and evolving. Their eyesight is an important part of their growth and needs to be taken care of from an early age. While maintaining vision at every age is important, children’s eyes are particularly prone to long-term damage. Children’s vision varies drastically and it is often difficult to decide when the right time for the eye checkup is. However, right guidance from the experts and adequate care, plays a crucial role in addressing any eye – related problems.

• The initial signs of eye problems to notice in your child are squinting of eyes, reading difficulties, frequent headaches, sitting too close to television sets or computer screens or leaning closer to the book they are reading, covering one eye to see, etc. In clinical terms it is called Myopia.
• Every child till the age of 13 must have their eye checkups done under tertiary care and follow it up with reputed, trusted and professional optical clinics. There is a need to develop specific skills for providing eye care to children.
• Parents are concerned to get their kid’s eyes checked with the specialist but 80 percent of the parents neglect the point that getting the proper spectacles for their kids is equally important. If the rx will have high minus or having astigmatism it is very crucial to get the correct centration for the glasses and selecting the proper refractive index as per the prescription.
• The frame selection is also an  important aspect to counter their vision problems
• Kids often get a condition called Lazy Eye or Amblyopia in which the kids complain of squinting which can be corrected by proper vision therapy and proper centration of the pair of spectacles.
• Children these days are addicted to smart phones, computers and Ipads, it possesses greater risks to their eyes. There are special lenses called Eyezen with Crizal Prevencia coating specific for this which needs to be used.
• Parents have often various myths regarding contact lenses, especially when it comes for children but even they can use contact lenses safely if explained about the proper care regime and are given the correct type of contact lens as per the parameter of the eye and the usage pattern.

About Lawrence and Mayo – India’s first optical retailer, Lawrence & Mayo and the only premium and most preferred eyewear brand which started its operations in 1877 from Kolkata. Over the past 141 years, the company has developed a stellar reputation and has been the preferred opticians for eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, JRM Tata, Queen Victoria, Rabindranath Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Dutt and the likes. Today, Lawrence & Mayo has a network of over 105 showrooms covering 42 major cities and towns across India.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES

Psychological connections with care givers and parents are significant contributors to children’s emotional well-being. There are some simple strategies by which parents and caregivers can develop connections with their children. This brief article will shed some very practical ways to do that on day to day basis.  These are given below:

1. Show affection through physical contact. Touching children is a major way to establish a sense of Connectiveness. William James often known as “Father of American Psychology” also asserts in his book Principles of Psychology that physical touch has positive implications for people’s  emotional well-being.  There are lots of ways to touch a child from a brief pat on the shoulder to a great big kissing bear-hug. It’s important to know when and how a child wants or needs to be touched, but the only way to find out is to try to see his reaction. If children pull away, use brief, less demanding touches. Sometimes you will feel them “learn into” you, and then pull away; sometimes they return the touch in kind! Parents need to respect a child’s wish not to be touched. Clinging children often need lots of touching, and they need to know that they don’t always have to ask for it. Touching children is a way to get their attention, and for some it is an important way. Touching and getting eye contact is a way to get children to listen.
2. Show positive feelings on your face toward the child.  Parents’ own facial expression have a significant effect on a child. Around the age of 4 years of age, children develop the skills of reading the mind of others often known as as social referencing. This skill in turn helps  them to relate with parents or others.  Parents have different ways to respond to their own emotions as  some smile when they’re angry and frown when they’re happy. Differences between what a parent or teacher says and how he looks confuse children. Smiles, or even a wink, can confirm good feeling to a child, when lots of words may not get the point across. Eye contacts increase intimacy, even if it is a bit uncomfortable for adult or child. Letting your face show anger when you feel it, makes your positive feelings more believable when they’re expressed.
3. Tell children in words when you feel good about them. Adults are sometimes reluctant to do this, especially if it wasn’t done to them as children. It’s important for children to have verbal reassurance of your positive feelings about them. It also helps them build a catalog of positive statements that they can say to others, i.e. :I love you;” I think you’re fantastic;” “You make me feel good;” etc. Teaching a child that it’s ok. to make positive statements to others by hearing them about himself improves his chances for good relationships with others and thus his sense of Connectiveness with the parents.
4. Make praise specific. Communicating positive feelings and giving praise are not necessarily the same. “I like your picture” is different from “You used color so nicely in this. I especially like the red and blue.” Children need to know what pleases parents and teachers and what they do well in your eyes. They need to know that what they have tried to do well has been noticed. When praise is specific it’s more credible, and helps a child develop more self-awareness.
5. Let children know when you see their positive behavior having a good effect on others. Children need to learn how to relate well. Praise for good interpersonal relations with others gives them feedback that human relationships are important to you. It’s important that you comment on good relationships within the family, and of special importance that you let children know how they affect you. Comments about this should be specific, “I felt good when you didn’t argue with your brother at dinner,” “It makes me happy when you share what happened to you in school.” Children who cooperate well are easily liked. Helping a child understand that cooperation is an important feature of human relationships is best done by praising him for being cooperative.
6. Share your feelings with children. Adults have feelings that don’t have anything to do with their children. Children need to know that your feelings don’t always result from what they do. You have bad days and good ones; nice things happen to you as well as bad; sharing some of your joys and trails makes you more human, less threatening, and a more well rounded model of good interpersonal relationships. Adults are sometimes afraid to share negative feelings with children for fear they will undermine a child’s security or faith. But most anxiety in children is a result of not being able to make sense of what’s going on. If children sense that an adult is depressed, but don’t know why, they are likely to feel guilty as well as anxious. If children make you angry, telling them why gives them information by which they may change. Hidden resentments are anxiety-provoking. Letting children know that you’re angry but are still “connected” to them helps them deal with angry feelings in others. Sharing your feelings helps children feel secure- the foot of a positive sense of Connectiveness.
7. Share your interests, hobbies, activities, and family experiences with your children. When your children know you better, it builds their connection to you. Feeling connected to parents is basic to building a positive sense of Connectiveness. Knowing what you like builds a catalog of potential experiences for a child. It is important to involve children in what you do (hobby, shop work, cleaning), talk to them about the way the activity makes you feel, and demonstrate how and why you do it. Sometimes children’s involvement is distracting and intrusive. Parents want to do their own thing tool.  But if a child continues to put pressure on you, make a special time to expose him to the activity. He may learn and continue in it, or may have curiosity satisfied and lose interest.
8. Listen to children without judging them all the time. This “art” is an important way to respond to children. It’s done by being quiet and letting the child talk. Don’t feel that you have to comment, advise, or make suggestions every time he says something. You can also paraphrase what children say, acknowledge how they’re feeling (“I know how you must feel.”), or encourage them to say more (“Can you tell me anything else about that?”). Asking broad general questions give a child room to say what he wants. Some parents manipulate children by asking them very specific questions that bend the conversation into the parent’s framework. That’s when their kids feel that they’re not being listened to. An example of this is the standard “either/or” parent question: “Did you hit your brother, yes or no?” Another alternative may be more explanatory. “Actually Mom, it was more complicated than that. Who hit first is not clear; we both pushed and were angry at each other from yesterday.” Other either/or questions imply simple moral choices that may not be so simple. “Is it right or wrong to take his cookie?” when in fact the overall situation is more complex.” He acted like I could have it, but started yelling when I ate it.”
9. Do something special for children that acknowledge their special needs or interests. Feeling that you notice and care about what he does builds a child’s sense of Connectivness. Make his favorite foods, go buy something for his hobby, get a magazine about a special interest, purchase a blouse in her favorite color- and many other small measures can communicate special attention to a child. Remember, it needs to be something that they are interested in, not what you think they ought to be interested in.
10. Avoid questioning children who are very shy. Shy children suffer anxiety when they have to respond to questions. Making statements to them makes them feel noticed, but safe. Sometimes adults develop a habit of asking questions in order to elicit responses. When a very shy child pays attention-that is a response. If questions need to be asked, let yes or no responses suffice. As a child becomes less shy, he/she will elaborate more spontaneously.

Dr. Mustafa Nadeem Kirmani
Associate Professor & Head M.Phil, Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral Sciences,
SGT University, Gurgaon, Haryana.   Dr.mnkirmani@sgtuniversity.org   Ph: 08295320920/08267871886

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