chatwithketch

Q: I heard somewhere that it’s not safe to use powder on my baby.
Is this true?

A: Great question! For most mothers with babies, some form of
powder is a staple in the baby care pack. Powder is sprinkled all over the baby
after they have been moisturized, used on the baby’s butt to prevent nappy
rash, sprinkled on suspected rashes on the baby’s body etc. So, using powder on
babies is pretty common due to the belief that it prevents friction and absorbs
moisture

However, studies have shown that the cloud of powder ‘dust’ can be
inhaled by babies and cause respiratory problems. Babies most at risk include
premature babies, those born with heart disease, those with frequent
respiratory problems etc.

Therefore, if you must use powder on your baby, here are a couple
of tips:

Don’t shake the powder onto your baby. Move away from your baby…

Q: Hi, my baby is crying a lot, day and night. What can be the cause, and how can I cure it?

A: What’s my baby saying when he whimpers, when he cries, when he … what does it all mean. It can be pretty overwhelming trying to make sense out of it all, I knowJ

Let’s help you out: Here are some signals babies could be giving out when they cry

Hunger:

If your baby isn’t full after a feed, he would cry at the end of it and before the next one. Babies also don’t feel hungry at regular intervals and so there are days when he appears to need a feed more often and other days when he needs it infrequently.

So, offer a feed if you’re not sure what signal he is giving out.

Needing to be held:

We all worry about whether we will spoiling…

It was World Breast feeding week last week and this event got my mind racing down memory lane. A few years ago when I was pregnant for my first child, I made plans…loads of them. How great a mother I was going to be, I would make packed lunches, make her hair, teach her, school her, take her to work with me, (so I could exclusively breast feed), take her to school by myself (when it was that time), pick her up too, do her laundry by myself etc. I wanted to be super mum. All those statistics of mothers who left their children etc., was never going to be me or my child. 

And so, I birthed this child. And, I set about doing all the things I had planned to do with a vengeance! I had no help…I insisted on doing everything myself, (never mind that by the…

Q: Hello Dr. I have been to a high blood pressure routine check for 3 weeks and yesterday I was diagnosed for it. I know I take in lot of salt and fatty food. I’m not ready for the treatment because they said once I use it I won’t have to stop it. Dr. is it possible to avoid treatment and regain normal pressure if I reduce fats and salt in my diet? My last blood pressure was 180/90 and they said I might have a stroke. How can I avoid this doctor?

A: High blood pressure used to be defined as blood pressure reading of 140/90mmHg or more. Not anymore!
The new guidelines by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association state that only blood pressure readings below 120/80mmHg can now be considered normal blood pressure.
A systolic blood pressure reading between 120 and 129mmHg is…

Did you miss our show on osteoporosis? Do want to know what foods are full of calcium and how much of them you should be getting everyday? Get the full half hour episode here with Ms Taiwo Ajai-Lycett who tells us her ‘personal; secrets for being fit and agile at 73 years.
Watch the show here

Q: Thank you Dr Ketch for the wellness information you share.  It’s really helpful. Please what’s the right portion of milk to take per day?

A: Thanks for writing in. Milk is full of protein, calcium and other nutrients needed for proper development. It’s needed, not just by our children as a lot of people tend to think, but also by adults who need to build up a good stock of calcium to ensure they don’t end up with brittle bones (osteoporosis).

Here’s how much milk everyone needs from birth till old age:

Breast milk is the best milk and should be the only food for your baby until he is 6 months old, given at 2-3 hours’ interval.

From 6 months to 1 year, continue breastfeeding and then add other meals like cereals etc.

Continue breast milk till 2 years. However, if this is not feasible, cow milk can…