For reference: Pictures to stimulate discussion - Neonatal preventative factors

NEONATAL PREVENTATIVE FACTORS – DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS’ ROOTS

1.    Keeping the baby warm:

Babies get cold very quickly, if not dried thoroughly at birth, then wrapped warmly and put inside the mother’s clothes to keep warm. Bathing the baby before one day old causes it to get very cold. Avoiding these things helps prevent hypothermia, and so helps prevent brain damage or death of the baby.

2.    Breast-feeding without other feeds for six months:

Doing this can mean that:

·         The baby is more less likely to die of diarrhoea.

·         The baby is much less likely to get malnutrition.

·         The baby is much less likely to die of infection.

3.    Having a good diet after 6 months:

A good diet means not only getting enough food, but also getting foods with proteins and vitamins, (milk; beans; fish; meat; nuts; fruit; vegetables; seeds.) This can deal with the root of problems in the following ways:

·         It makes the infant strong and much less likely to die of infection.

·         It makes the baby resistant to other deadly illnesses such as TB and diarrhoea.

4.    Living in an healthy living environment:

Particular attention in the living environment should be given to:

·         Avoiding too much smoke, which causes babies to die of croup or pneumonia

·         Avoiding coughing and spitting indoors, which helps prevent spread of TB and other coughs.

·         Having a very clean environment when the baby still has an umbilical cord scab, so that it does not die of tetanus.

·         Avoiding contamination of food with faeces or other germs, thus preventing diarrhoea and worms.

5.     Receiving immunisations and Vitamin A:

This is a really helpful way of preventing death of the infant or child from TB; Diphtheria; Whooping cough; Tetanus; or Hepatitis.

Additionally, Measles is a particular killer of young children, and measles vaccine plus Vitamin A supplement help prevent it.

Polio can cause the child to become partly paralysed, and immunisation prevents it happening.

6.    Drinking clean water and getting appropriate rehydration if diarrhoea:

Babies should be only breast fed up to 6 months. This very much erduces the chance of death from diarrhoea.

If the infant does get diarrhoea, safe ways of rehydrating include breast feeding, and, for infants over 6 months, use of boiled water, (or boiled rice water). These should be given with a cup and spoon, not a bottle, as it is difficult to clean a bottle thoroughly.

If Oral Rehydration Solution is available, and can be made with clean water, this is the best way to rehydrate in the presence of diarrhoea.