Understand these signs that show newborn illness and immediately act on them 29^th December 2022

Bringing home your newborn from the hospital is a wonderful yet challenging experience as a parent. The fear of the infant getting sick is a big worry. It takes time to understand typical infant behaviour and gauge abnormalities, which can be challenging.

Detecting initial signs of illness is crucial as it gets difficult for infants to fight off diseases that spread swiftly due to weak immune systems. Comparing family floater plans offered by online health insurance companies is an equally important step to consider to protect your baby.

Additionally, here are some symptoms of newborn illnesses to be aware of.

1. Consistent crying or irritability:
A baby can only communicate its needs by crying, be it hunger, tiredness, loneliness, a change of diaper, or discomfort. At first, you might not understand your baby's cries, but cancel out reasons to identify the cause. Consistent irritability and cries are signs of sickness.

2. Fever:
Bacterial and viral infections, including pneumonia, ear infections, stomach bugs, and urine infections, can cause a fever. Use a digital or mercury-free glass rectal thermometer to take your child's temperature. A temperature of up to 100 degrees is considered normal. For children younger than three months, a temperature of 100 degrees or more, and 101 degrees for children between 3 and 6 months is the threshold, after which you must immediately contact the doctor.

3. Apathy or laziness:
Being tired, dizzy, listless, or excessively sleepy without responding to sounds and sights or reduced appetite are gradual changes you may notice. Lethargy may be a symptom of an infection or other illnesses, like low blood sugar. If your infant shows fatigue or isn't as active as before, consult the doctor.

4. Little appetite:
Most babies eat every three to four hours after the first day, and they will typically express their hunger by sucking on their hands or fingers, screaming, or making yelling gestures with their hands or fingers. Contact your paediatrician if your infant refuses to eat and skips multiple feedings.

5. Vomiting and diarrhoea:
Intestinal, bacterial, or viral infections and obstructions can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Regular examination of your baby's poop can help the doctor identify bacterial infections. The symptoms of viral infections generally go away after about a week without medication.

6. Inconsistent stools:
Your infant may lose excess fluids due to a fever, illness, or heat and have extremely dry stools. Once your baby begins eating solids, excessive consumption may cause constipation and the formation of firm stools due to difficulty in digestion.

7. Urination:
Typically, babies soil a minimum of four diapers daily. Excessive urination could be due to an infection or other urinary tract issues, such as distress while peeing. A pinkish stain on your baby's diaper indicates concentrated urine and is not worrisome—however, blood in its diaper or persisting discomfort requires a doctor's intervention.

Immediate steps of actions:

Caring for an infant is a significant responsibility that requires prior planning. We encourage to-be and new parents to compare infant insurance offered by online health insurance companies and prioritise their child's health.

Once you notice any symptoms persisting for long periods and deviations from typical behaviour, rush to the doctor. Ensure you follow the doctor's advice to nursing your child back to health. Additional preventive measures include:

● Introducing easy-to-digest foods

● Keeping a constant watch on your newborn

● Maintaining a clean environment

Dealing with kids is always a challenging task, especially when it comes to infants. Since they have weaker immune systems and cannot do things for themselves, it is the parent’s responsibility to make prior arrangements to provide the best possible environment for the infant to thrive in. You can start by including your infant in your family insurance plan after carefully considering the alternatives online health insurance companies offer.

Click HERE to buy insurance for infants from online health insurance companies.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.