Healthy skin is important for healthy babies. The skin is one of the most visible signs of the body’s well-being and vitality. It therefore warrants the same attention given to any other aspects of an infant or child’s well-being.
Unfortunately, skin care is one area of infant care that has often been driven by custom rather than by scientific evidence. Let us examine some of the basic principles that will improve skin-care decisions.
Being parents, we want to keep our baby’s skin healthy and smooth. Let us try to understand a bit about baby’s skin.
Baby skin
Skin is a major organ system in the newborn infant; it represents 13% of the total body weight. An infant has a much larger surface area relative to its weight, than an adult.
•  Presence of vernix caseosa
The vernix caseosa is only present at birth. It is a fairly thick film that covers the epidermis and consists mainly of dead cells in combination with lipids (fatty matter) from the epidermis, sebaceous glands, etc. The vernix caseosa helps decrease the removal of water from the surface of the skin (also known as transepidermal water loss) and thus keeps the skin well lubricated as the newborn adjusts to its new environment.

• Functions of the skin
a. Defense:
The skin is the body’s largest organ and protects the delicate organs inside the baby’s body.
b. Protection:

 It acts as a barrier that prevents entry of toxins and organisms into the body that can cause infection and allergies.
c. Temperature Regulation :
It keeps the baby’s body at the correct temperature (by allowing perspiration for cooling and “goose-bumps” for warming).
d. Sensory Experience:

 The skin with its highly sensitive nerve endings puts a baby in touch with the outside world. In fact it is through the skin that they experience the tender and loving touch of their parents.
Baby skin vs. Adult skin

 
The skin of babies has a smooth vulnerable appearance and the features are mainly like adult skin with some variations. It is important that we understand these differences since they contribute to a better understanding as to why a baby’s skin requires special care and develops diverse problems as compared to an adult’s skin.
These differences include:
a. Fragility:
The elastic fibers in baby’s skin (dermis) are not completely developed. So baby skin is very fragile and can break or get damaged very easily.
b. Vulnerability to external irritants:
Infant’s skin is thinner than adult skin.
It absorbs unwanted substances applied on the surface much more easily than adult skin. Also, fatty substances that may be undesirable and cause irritation penetrate through a baby’s skin much more easily. The main cause of rashes in children is contact with external irritants.
c. Susceptibility to sunburn:
The production of melanin (protective pigment) is lower in infants. Therefore the skin can easily burn if exposed to the sun.
d. Lowered ability to control water loss and maintenance of body temperature:

The heat regulation mechanism in infants differs from that in adult skin. The differences are mainly due to variations in the area-to-body volume, ratio of skin vascular reactivity and the tendency of losing heat by sweating, where all of these can lead to more loss of heat in infants after a minor stimuli.
Why is correct skin care important for babies?

 
Shortly after birth, the baby loses its protective covering of vernix and is continuously exposed to various environmental factors and conditions. Therefore, if proper care is not taken during this vulnerable period till the time the skin matures fully, this precious skin can get easily damaged.
As long as the skin of the baby remains intact, it tends to remain healthy. Scientists believe that correct infant skin care can help establish the basis of healthy skin for the rest of the child’s life. By keeping the skin undamaged, it will be best placed to perform all the functions and thereby prevent associated skin problems as well.
Good skin care practices for infants
The infant unlike an adult is exposed to frequent change of nappies, continuous wiping and cleaning of nappy area and area around the mouth and nose, as well as skin friction against diapers / nappy liners. All these situations present several opportunities for skin damage if not handled properly.
Since healthy skin should be kept intact, following are some tips on good skin care practices for children:
a. Avoid exposure to irritating agents like harsh soaps and detergents:
Harsh soap is the most common cause of irritation. Abandon the use of adult soaps and shampoos in favour of mild, gentle, clinically tested baby products. There are special baby shampoos that are as gentle to the eyes as pure water and do not cause any irritation even if they accidentally enter the baby’s eyes while bathing.
b. Reduce contact with Irritants from the environment:
Mainly urine and faeces in the diaper area and the detergent residue on clothes are the primary cause of irritation. You should change nappies frequently and dean the area with a gentle cleansing product.
Also use a product like baby powder in the area. This performs two functions:
 •  Reduces friction between the skin and the clothing (especially in the nappy area).  

•  It acts as a protective barrier that helps prevent the penetration of irritating substances through the skin.
c. Maintaining the right level of moisture in the skin:

 Maintaining the right moisture level for infant’s skin is very important to ensure that the skin remains healthy. There can be two kinds of problems related to moisture levels:
d. Loss of moisture or dehydration:

The effect of this is dry and cracked skin which will allow a lot of irritants to pass through, leading to skin rashes. The following tips are recommended to minimize this loss of moisture:
• Control the temperature and humidity at home.
• Protect the child from Wind, especially while traveling.
• Have a gentle skin care routine. Clean the baby with the gentlest of soaps and shampoos. The lipids (fatty matter) seem to play an important role in maintaining the moisture content of the skin. So the soaps and shampoos used on children should not wash away these important lipids. Use of a gentle and safe baby soap and baby shampoo all help in a gentle cleaning routine.
The baby requires frequent cleansing to remove irritating urine and saliva. Also removal of encrusted food and faeces from the skin must be done very carefully. A product like baby oil is very useful for removing caked-on material because it will not take-away the natural lipids of the skin while cleansing.
Finally application of baby cream and baby lotion reduces the moisture loss from the outer layers of the skin by almost 50 to 60%. They contain ingredients that are recognized for their ability to hinder water loss from the skin. Therefore they help in maintaining the moisture levels of the skin by not allowing it to escape from the surface.
• to minimize friction and irritation.
e. Avoid sunburn :

 In addition to being a potential cause of skin cancer, sunburn is very harmful especially for children because it causes dehydration and results in breakage! Cracks in infant skin. Children are at a greater risk because their skin contains lesser melanin as compared to adults and this results in a higher risk of sunburn.
Some tips to keep them safe from sunburn :

• Avoid exposure to sun especially between 10 am and 3 pm when the sun is the strongest.
Other practical measures are:
 Dress them with hats to shield their face from direct sunlight.
Dress them in loose, protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts! Dresses, long pants, etc. basically keep them comfortable and covered.

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Life is the part of the journey we overtake and to  keep this LIFE ENERGY flowing, we all have a role to play …which we perform unknowingly and are ‘blissfully’ unaware of.

I say unaware because we play this role unknowingly, with ease, without the drama of usual life and without any materialistic gain to this….we play this role through instincts and creating another life is the most important role that life demands of us.

We do not take it as a task
We do not fret and crib about it
We do not look for money in it.
We do not learn to do it. WE KNOW IT.

We know how to create…do we know how to procreate?
A child comes but do we know how to procreate the universe and its powers in him?

Parenting by and large is instinctive which we have all lost in the mayhem of running our life and earning for it. Time to ‘RE-LEARN’ these instincts.

Parenting as the name goes does not start with the child in hands, but the child in womb … it starts with pregnancy.

What we need to know first is that a child’s learning process begins at conception and in the womb, the child learns only from you, you are the stimulator and your child is the processer, with eager and curious senses, he is absorbing all that you are exposing him to, ‘HE IS YOU AND YOU ARE HIM’ in essence. He eats what you eat, he thinks what you think and he waits for you to teach him more…

AREN’T YOU AWED AND DON’T YOU WANT A FEW TIPS?

Visit our intelligent parenting section to read more…

http://www.ourbabysworld.com/pregnancy-introduction-and-tips.php

There are smart people and backward people in this world. Why is it? Whether a person is smart or not depends on whether he uses his right brain. Blakeslee claims that the use of the right brain is the answer to the enhancement of creativity; a smart person uses his right brain which is in charge of his creativity.
Why were the geniuses in history as they were? There is much evidence to show that all geniuses used their right brain extensively. Pierre Clement, the author of Hypnosis and Power Learning, noticed when he was researching their biographies, that there are some common elements in great people’s lives. They often referred to a special condition of consciousness, described variously as ‘enraptured’, ‘daydreaming’, ‘selflessness’ or ‘extraordinariness’.

These states are the Altered States of Consciousness (ASC).

All geniuses had the habit of slipping into the ASC. That was the difference between them and the ordinary people.

In the past there was no known means to reach ASC or to use the right brain effectively. As research on the brain advanced, these means also became clear to us.

If you understand the way to use the right brain, you can turn anyone into someone intelligent and creative. I can assure you that if anyone comes to learn how to use his right brain, he will uncover the hidden abilities that exist in all of us.

In the past education was done mainly through language. We relied heavily on the study method that taught the left brain through language. Acquiring knowledge was expected to activate the work of the brain.

Today, it is safe to say that everyone keenly realizes that this educational method is not effective. Teaching pieces of knowledge is the educaton of the past. Many people have come to realise that creativity, the catchword of the day, has a relationship to right brain functions.

How can we draw out the power of the right brain in which the non verbal mind works? To do so, we should enhance the imaging ability in the brain. The right brain is called the image brain. Therefore, right brain education is through imagery, not through language. The principles and methods of right – brain education are totally different from those of left – brain education, which has been continuing of r hundred years in Japan. You may experience some difficulties in getting used to this new method, but once you get to know it well, you will find it a most effective study method. You will be amazed.

See how to make your child more intelligent starting from pregnancy in ourbabysworld.com, http://www.ourbabysworld.com/intelligent-parenting.php.

After the fetus crosses the normal period of 280 days, there is some risk to the fetus and the mother. Maternal complications arise when the fetus continues to grow at the same rate as third trimester and there are complications like -

• Oligohydramnios
• Prolonged labor
• Dystocia
• Increased incidence of instrumentation or cesarean section
• Pelvis floor trauma because of large babies
• Increased risk of post partum hemorrhage (bleeding after the delivery
• Increased risk of endometriosis

Risks to the fetus

• Increased chances of still birth
• Fetal hypoxia and decreased blood supply to the fetus
• Meconeum aspiration
• Cord complications
• Peripheral nerve injuries
• Pneumonias
• Septicemia

For more information on post datism, visit ourbabysworld.com. http://www.ourbabysworld.com/post-datism.php

 

Some experts point out that education upto now was aimed mainly at squeezing knowledge into children, and did not do much to develop their talents. The main objective of education in the future should be changed, they say, to emphasize the drawing out of latent abilities; working directly to children’s brains.
The point is that, so far, school education has been concerned with educating mainly the left hemisphere. The left is often called the language brain while the right is called the image brain. This means that the left hemisphere of the brain functions through language and the right hemisphere functions with imagery.
Upto now, education has been mostly conducted through language that reaches the left brain. The right brain education method that works on the right brain through imagery was little known. This is not surprising because the functions of the right brain themselves were little known.

An American named Thomas.R.Blakeslee wrote a book The right Brain in 1980. This book was published in Japan under the title, The right brain revolution. It is safe to say that many people came to know more about the right brain with this book.

Blakeslee is an inventor who graduated from the California institute of technology with a background in electronics. His book is used as a textbook in many technical colleges. As an inventor he was vaguely aware that he had different ways of using his brain. Then he learned the different functions of the left and the right brain through recent research on the cerebrum. He got so interested that he spent all his spare time studying literature concerning the brain. He wrote this book to consolidate the fragmentary existing knowledge on the left and right brains to form a systemized view.

It is believed that the very use of the right brain enhances creativity. The right brain represents the unconscious mind. The most appropriate phrase to describe the right brain is “the nonverbal mind”. The mechanism of human talents and creativity can be set in motion through developing the right, not the left brain.

In the past, brain weight and the number of folds of the brain were thought to possess the secret of intelligence. But such simple things did not hold the secret. Investigating the right brain can shed great light on the development of intelligence and creativity.

Once these facts are revealed, we can think of a totally different kind of concept and principle of education or approach to education than the present left brain emphasis.

See how to make your child more intelligent starting from pregnancy in ourbabysworld.com, http://www.ourbabysworld.com/intelligent-parenting.php.