When you take your bundle of joy home from the hospital, it is inevitable you will not do everything right. Paediatricians were asked about the five most common mistakes parents make with their newborns. Here were their responses: Letting a newborn sleep through the night. ‘One of the things that make me cringe is when parents say to me, ‘The first night…

Causes and prevention Hay fever, also medically known as Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is an allergic inflammation of the nasal ways. Like all allergic reactions, it is caused by allergens, a foreign invader that enters the body by inhalation, swallowing or through skin. In Hay fever, the allergens are airborne substances that enter the airways (mouth, nose, throat and lungs) through breathing…

Mweni and John are a young couple from Kileleshwa, Nairobi, who had been unable to conceive for nine years. Mweni had blocked fallopian tubes. Having gone from doctor to doctor for help to no avail, she was referred to the Nairobi In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centre and six months later, Mweni is now expectant. ‘It’s…

It came as a shock to me to find out that, when I reached my early twenties, the brain cells that I had refused to use in mathematics and similar figures-laden science subjects, shriveled up and died. No more growth for me in that direction, as opposed to baby, who has a lot of growing…

Key to keeping skin disease at bay Much as you already know that your baby’s skin is the largest body organ, it is one of the most important parts because it covers and protects everything inside your baby’s body. Without it, his muscles, bones and internal organs would be hanging out and exposed. Apart from…

Tips to help your child have control over them You may be familiar with Kenya’s 8-4-4 education system that left many of us keen on following instructions without questioning and cramming with an obsession and later doing courses the universities picked for us and finally tumbling into the field — where you have some time to start thinking, so what do I…

How to cope with the ‘minority rulers’ I tell you, there is nothing in the world like coming home in the evening to the embrace of a baby,’ says Steve Omwanda, an IT specialist and father of four. ‘Holding that baby close to you can cure a man of all ills!’ Babies are those little, wingless angels who, when placed…

The light grey dawn of every weekday morning finds Mary Wambui preparing breakfast for her two children and husband. Once the family is fed, she packs her children’s favourite snacks, which include mandazi, sausages, and queencakes along with ready-to- drink artificial fruit juice and sends them to school. At school, the teachers are concerned that Mary’s…

Back in my childhood days when I was about 7, I remember seeing my 2-year-old cousin very weak and fragile after an entire night’s bout of diarrhoea. My mother fed her a salt and sugar solution, which I later learnt was for hydration. For a long time, I never witnessed any other incident of a…

Hepatitis is the swelling and inflammation of the Liver. The following are some of its causes: Infection: Most commonly viral hepatitis, but bacteria can also cause it. Autoimmune: Immune cells of the body attack cells of the Liver. Damage from alcohol and other poisonous substances. Drugs: For example overdose of pain relief medication. Hereditary causes: For example, the Wilson’s disease…