Infant Protection Day: How to protect infants and ensure their healthy growth?

The protection of infants is highly important for the survival of humanity. Although there have been major advancements in both technology and the health sector, even today in many parts of the world babies die during infancy owing to malnutrition or neglect. Lack of proper knowledge or resources to treat health issues in infants is also another reason why the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in some countries in the world is very high.

To bring awareness among everyone regarding this serious issue, Infant Protection Day is observed every year on November 7.

Steps to protect infants

Following appropriate feeding guidelines

For the first six months, the baby simply requires the mother’s milk. However, since the sucking capacity of infants is less in the initial days, they need to be fed after a proper interval of around 2.5 to 3 hours. Mothers and elders in the family should ensure that the baby is fed at the right time and at regular intervals.

In case the mother is incapable of providing breast milk in adequate amounts, formula feed or milk as advised by the caregiver should be given. But in any case, the infant should not have an empty stomach for long intervals as during these first few months his body is growing very fast.

Maintain proper hygiene

It is important that the surroundings where you live are clean. Ensure that proper toilet habits are practiced and the baby is bathed and cleaned from time to time. The clothes of the infant should also be washed in antiseptic water for a final rinse so that it does not suffer from any skin irritations or allergies.

Vaccinations and regular check-ups

At the time of the infant's birth, the mother is given a chart of vaccinations and a regular checkup schedule. As a parent, you must follow this schedule and ensure that your baby is vaccinated as mentioned in it. This saves him from contracting dangerous infections and diseases.