Child population in India in 1996 was 307 million. The infant mortality rate in 1971 was 129 deaths per 1000 live births. This got reduced to 79 per 1000 live births in 1992. In that year, under 5, mortality rate was 124 per 1000 live births. 103 countries have a lower infant mortality rate of under 5 than India. In India Kerala's IMR was the lowest. In India six killer diseases of measles, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, diptheria and T.B. account for almos

All the essential brain structures like cortex develop before a baby is born. He is born with millions of brain cells called neurons. Heredity and pre-natal nutrition plays an important part in determining the quality of those cells. These cells have to be wired to other cells to regulate life. For regulating the basics of life like breathing, action of the heart to pump blood to the system, some of the brain cells are already wired on birth. Most of the oth

Good eating habits start young. Food provides the raw material for growth. Nutrients provide for a healthly immune system. There are a number of important ways in which a child's food requirements differ from those of an adult. Children grow at a tremendous rate and need much more energy in proportion to their body size. High fiber and low fat diet is not suitable for children under two. Toddler's small stomachs full up quickly and fiber rich foods may fill

Breastfeeding is a fundamental requirement. It is not merely a matter of choice. Nature brings milk to the breasts of the mother simultaneously with the birth of the child. Why?

During the first 72 hours after delivery, the breasts produce a thin yellow fluid called colostrum containing antibodies that protect the baby against a range of intestinal and respiratory i

A child's growth is a development process, beginning at birth and continuing all the through adulthood. Within minutes of birth, the baby, if placed next to several bodies, can recognise his mother by the rhythm of heart-beat with which he had become familiar over a period of nine months. The new-born prefers to hear the voice of the mother to a stranger's. A few days after birth, the baby can identify his mom even by smell. His sense of touch is well develo