It is dreaded by most parents, but few understand why it happens and how to prevent it. THE term ‘convulsion’ is commonly used interchangeably with ‘seizure.’  There are many types of seizures, but one particular type relevant to babies is ‘febrile seizure’, which is triggered by a fever. This type of seizure mostly occurs between…

Where my ancestors came from, when a child got mumps, they would be advised or led to a certain tree and urged to sing certain songs and dance around the tree to cast away the mumps. After which the child will be required to walk back to their home without looking back. It was believed…

Incase you’re wondering what a butternut is, it is a type of a pumpkin that is shaped like a gourd and when fully grown, it shines forth a rich yellow color. The difference between a butternut and other pumpkins is that it is sweet and easy on the palate. Its soup is a delicacy you…

Babies were born to breastfeed. However, sometimes a baby goes off the breast and refuses to breastfeed. Many mothers are usually not prepared for this possibility. Breast milk is considered the most beneficial, healthy and non-costly food for a new born. It has the perfect nutritional combo, for it fulfills all the dietary requirements of…

Your heat beats 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime, it will beat about 3 billion times and pump about 800 million pints (378 million litres) of blood. A normal heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute. Over 70 and 80 years, it gives a few billion beats. It is the powerful machine inside…

The trickling down of tears is one of the many forms of expression in human beings. There are tears of joy and tears of pain. However, for newborns, though they cry, they do not have the capacity to produce tears, at least not until the end of the first month. It is around this time…

Unless you are a parent or a newborn, your knowledge of immunization is likely to be very scant. I dare say many parents walk into motherhood without a clue of which injection comes first and why. Yet we all have tell tale signs on parts of our bodies, especially near the elbow and on our shoulders, that suggest we were…

Do’s and don’ts  Physician and philosopher Hippocrates of Cos said teething infants, especially the first tooth, experience symptoms like fever, diarrhoea and itching of gums. All the way through the end of the 19th Century, teething was considered the number one cause of death of infants. This was treated through leeches, mercury-based powders and pricking of the gum. Apparently, the deaths…