The 5 most common causes of convulsions in a baby in the 1st 28 days of life

1- Decreased oxygen to brain tissue :

After failure of resuscitation after delivery 

 

2- Cerebral stroke ( mostly thrombosis) leading to infarction 

What is APGAR scores ? and Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy .

Simply the APGAR score is a score suggest the baby status , determining whether the baby is breathing well or not , also it determines the degree of asphyxia if present . 

Causes of Brain asphyxia in a newly born ( neonate ) , Why the baby does not respond to resuscitation ?

In many occasions after we do resuscitation to a newly born neonate the neonate does not respond to all the steps we do , here there is a serious pathology or failure in the technique of resuscitation steps itself . The causes of failure may be : 

problems of preterm infant ( complications of prematurity )

Usually preterm infants are liable to many problems respiratory , cardiac , etc...... . This makes it is hard to deal with a preterm baby in the medical issue . 

 

1- Respiratory : 

- Respiratory distress syndrome is the major problem in the premature

What is moro reflex , when it diseppears ?

Moro reflex is one of the simple reflexes that can be made by the examiner or by the mother , the question here is what positive or negative moro reflex means , how it is done ? . First I will begin with the stimulus ( action made stimulate the appearance of moro reflex in the child . 

Failure to thrive ( When the baby is not growing well ? )

In many occasions babies are not growing well especially in the first year , which is the period of growth . There are many causes babies are not growing well in this topic I will mark the most common causes for that . There are 2 groups of causes babies are not growing well , first is non organic causes ( meaning that there are no diseases ) and this is the condition in about 95% in babies , the second one is organic here the babies have certain disease in 5% only . 

When and how to begin weaning ? and what types of food to introduce in weaning ?, How to start weaning ?

When and how to begin weaning ? 

The age of 4-6 months is ideal to begin weaning as :

1- iron stores of the baby become depleted at this age 

2- Caloric intake of breast milk alone is not sufficient . 

3- Digestive enzymes of the baby become mature

Factors indicating adequate breast feeding and minor problems with Breast feeding and its mangement .

Indicators of adequate breast feeding 

For the mother :

- Marked filling before breast feeding ( indicate good breast filling ) . 

- Let down sensation ( milk flow from one breast while nursing from the other ) . 

Proper Breast feeding positioning with video description , Signs of good baby attachment .

Positioning of breast feeding 

1- The infant should be elevated to the height of the breast 

2- The infant's body should face the mother , with all the body supported not only the neck 

3- The infant's neck should be straight . 

7 protective elements in breast milk

Breast milk has many advantages to the infant , as nutritional and immunologic benefits which makes the mother's milk the first choice especially in the first 6 months of the baby's life . In this topic we will concentrate on the protective ( immunologic ) advantages of the breast milk:

 

1- Bifidus factor : 

This factor is oligosaccharide in nature present in the colostrum ( milk in the first 2-3 days from the mother's breast ) and mature milk ( milk from the mother's  breast after the first 2-3 weeks of lactation ) , this factor favors

How to asses the Nutritional status of the baby

There are 4 ways by which we can asses the nutritional status of any baby as stated by the WHO :

1- Anthropometric measures : 

These are measures indicating the nutritional status of the baby :-

- Height for the age : for every child there is growth curve by which we can know if the baby is normal , low normal , etc..... , If the height is decreased in relation  to the age this indicate chronic malnutrition . 

-Weight for the age : if decreased it indicate acute malnutrition 

- Skin fold test : by punching the skin of the baby we can detect loss in the subcutaneous fat if present .