#AyurvaidWay: Baby Care Practices in Ayurveda

Hi everyone, I am Dr Aswathi from Apollo AyurVAID from New Delhi. Today I am here to discuss about baby care practices in Ayurveda. There are many traditional practices for the care of newborn babies  which are often neglected nowadays, as there are many modern methods which are time saving andconvenient. But often the role of these traditional practices for healthy growth and development of a child is ignored. For example if we want to select a clothing for a newborn baby a wide variety of designs and materials are available in market today. But a baby should be always dressed in cotton soft airy clothes which arelight in colour. They should also be cleaned without any harsh chemicals and dried in sunlight. We should also use cloth paddings instead of gel based diapers or plastic coverings. Also instead of using wet wipes soft cotton towels can be made handy for wiping any milk regurgitations or any other dirt in baby's body. Baby should also be made to lie on a cotton bed with many layers of soft sheets spread over it. Cotton cradles are also very excellent choice because it provides ample support and secure position for the baby. Ayurveda also recommends many protective measures that need to be followed. In a babies room proper disinfection and sterilization need to be done. Various herbs are recommended to fumigate and clean the room like Neem, agaru etc these herbs should be made into herbal bundles and tied near the cot at the entrance of the room to ward off any insects and microbes. Ayurveda also advises to keep a water pot inside the baby's room or a fireplace according to the climate to maintain the temperature of the room. So in this way caring for your baby in a natural and holistic way can be a very good start for their long and healthy life. Thank you.