Sister Lilian’s Babycare Companion: Complimentary and traditional care. Lilian Paramor

and infrequent. Your exclusively breastfed baby might be passing a stool only every five days or so at this stage – this is not constipation, no matter how much they strain and go red in the face. Use these preventative and treatment tips for constipation:

      •Avoid giving cereals to Baby at this stage.

      •Choose special formula milk if dairy or soy formula causes constipation.

      •Rub a little petroleum jelly around the anus and ‘ride bicycle’ with Baby’s legs when he strains.

      •Hold Baby upright and rub his lower back when he needs to pass a stool.

      •Massage a point in the middle of the underside of the heel of his left foot with your knuckle to stimulate bowel movement – this is a very useful reflexology tip.

      •Only give seasonal fruit or yellow veggies if you have already introduced solids, although it would be better to offer more of Baby’s milk and no solids until later.

      •Add a few drops of olive oil to two bottles a day for formula-fed babies.

      •Use homeopathic remedies like Rescue Digest if all these tips fail, which is unlikely.

      Eyes that are sticky

      Sticky or watery eyes are sometimes due to a blockage in the tear duct, and seldom a real infection. Clean the sticky discharge with boiled, cooled water and cotton wool swabs, from the inner corner to the outer. If you breastfeed, express a little milk into a clean container and swab Baby’s eyes with this, as breastmilk is a powerful natural disinfectant. Massage the lower eyelid with your index finger from the outer toward the inner corner with circular movements to help dislodge any blockage. The tissue salt remedies Kali mur and Kali sulph (one tablet of each 3 times a day, dissolved in a little water) are also helpful. If your little one is often mucousy or an allergy child, this can be related. Dairy and grain products in the diet (either yours if you breastfeed, or Baby’s directly) are common triggers. The homeopathic remedy MucoCare taken orally can also be useful for this. If all else fails and it does not clear by about six months, your doctor may suggest a minor operation to probe the tear duct and remove any blockage.

      Heat rash

      Heat rash characteristically comes and goes with temperature changes. It is light pink and spotty and mostly located in the warmest areas of the body, like neck, face and skin folds, or where clothing makes the body hot. As the body cools in the evening or when Baby is undressed, the rash usually disappears. It does not seem to itch but Baby may well be restless due to discomfort from the heat. Dress Baby in pure cotton clothes and do not overdress. Summer weather might require only a vest and nappy or a light baby suit. If the rash does not disappear, or Baby seems off-colour and there have been signs of a fever or flu-like symptoms, it might be an allergy. Allergy rashes are often triggered by diet, fabric detergents or body soaps and lotions. See your doctor if Baby seems unwell so that the correct treatment can be taken. To soothe itchy rashes, add a pot of rooibos tea to bath water and give Baby the homeopathic remedy Calendula Tablets.

      Hip dislocation

      There are varying degrees of hip dislocation, commonly called ‘clicky hips’, and this is routinely tested for at birth. A fairly minor degree of this requires that Baby wears a few towelling nappies at a time for a few weeks to a few months, to keep the thigh bones at the correct angle to the hollow of the pelvic bone while the ligaments strengthen. Giving Baby the tissue salt remedies Ferrum phos and Calc fluor for improving strength and elasticity of the ligaments that secure the thigh bone into the hollow of the pelvic bone may be useful supportive treatment. Hip dislocation is fairly common, especially in breech babies, but is fortunately treatable. In the worst degree, Baby’s legs are put in an inverted V-shaped splint and held this way with a support keeping the knees apart, for several months. This takes a lot of patience and courage from parents. Stick to the schedule of checks which the doctor has advised, and ask all the questions you need to about your baby’s progress. Rest assured that the prognosis is very good, so do not be too anxious.

      Jaundice in babies

      Most jaundice in babies is of a physiological nature, which means it is not the symptom of a liver disease like hepatitis. Newborns have too many red blood cells for their needs out of the womb, which the still slightly immature liver has to break down after birth. These extra red cells do have many positive effects in the first few days of life but as they break down bilirubin, a yellow pigment responsible for physiological jaundice, is produced. It usually starts from the second or third day of life and continues until it is totally excreted by the body.

      Jaundice straight after birth is related to incompatibility of the Rhesus factor (the positive or negative of the blood group) of mother and baby’s blood groups and is quite rare and treated totally differently.

      At home or even in the clinic one should expose as much as possible of Baby’s body to sunlight daily for two sessions of five to ten minutes each. Take care to avoid sunburn and protect Baby’s eyes. Phototherapy is used in the clinic, and a unit can be used at home too, under the supervision of a nursing sister who will make daily visits.

      Breastfeeding Baby frequently is imperative, as they need more fluids to help flush out the bilirubin. Sometimes it takes longer for jaundice to pass with breast babies, but not scheduling the feeds works more quickly. Babies may become more tired when jaundiced, so they might need to be woken for feeds. Breast babies especially tire quite easily as feeding requires more muscular effort.

      Latest research seems to indicate that high levels of bilirubin are not as dangerous as previously thought, but it remains a good idea to ensure that blood levels are monitored and treatment given.

      Mucus

      Babies are extremely prone to develop mucus and one needs to assess the type of formula given, or the diet of a breastfeeding mom.

      It is also important to analyse the quality of the mucus to be able to treat it correctly with tissue salt therapy – a most cost-effective, safe and effective solution with no adverse side effects:

      •Watery, profuse, frothy, burning mucus, usually associated with sneezing, requires Nat mur.

      •Thick, white-grey, sluggish mucus that blocks the upper airways responds well to Kali mur.

      •Yellow sticky or slimy mucus responds well to Kali sulph.

      •Green/yellow lumpy and slimy mucus is relieved by Calc sulph.

      Thrush in babies

      Oral thrush infections in babies can be triggered by a number of factors. Bottle and dummy babies are more prone to it. The best way of sterilising is to boil all components for ten minutes, as some sterilising solutions still pose a problem in this regard. Newborn babies who have been given bottles in hospital often develop thrush within two weeks of being home. Antibiotics also frequently lead to thrush and it is better to give probiotic therapy simultaneously. If Mom has a thrush infection (vaginal, systemic or on her breasts – sore nipples are often an indication of this), it can be passed on to Baby and both will need treatment. Self-treatment tips include the following:

      •Give Baby 10 ml live culture AB yoghurt 3 times a day.

      •Give the homeopathic remedy Calendula Tablets and the tissue salt remedy Kali mur (crush one tablet and dissolve in a little cooled boiled water) 3 times a day.

      •Breastfeeding mothers should also take these remedies and apply a little Calendula cream or special baby-safe balm to their nipples.

      •One can spread gentian violet on Baby’s tongue but this is quite messy.

      •If thrush recurs frequently, re-evaluate Baby’s formula and refrain from giving cereal at this early stage.

      Undescended testes

      In embryonic formation, a boy’s testicles develop in the abdominal cavity, close to his kidneys. Late in pregnancy, the normal progression is that they move down to take their place in the scrotal sac. Undescended testes are a cause for concern because sperm can only be manufactured by the testes at a temperature