Strengthening a newborn's immune system

Every parent wants their baby to grow up healthy and strong. And the sooner mom and dad start hardening procedures for newborns, the better the child will develop. Neonatologists advise starting a set of procedures for an absolutely healthy child from the second week after birth. And if the baby was born full-term as a result of uncomplicated birth; the physiological loss of its weight in the first days after birth is no more than 10%; at home the child is calm and gains weight well; the pediatrician and pediatric neurologist did not find any deviations in development, - the parents are given the "green light" to begin classes.

How can you harden such a baby? With the help of natural elements - water and air:

1. Maintaining the optimal temperature in the child's room is 20-22 C. You should not wrap up the child, and you can only remember about the hat for a short time after bathing. During night sleep, the permissible air temperature is within 18-20 C.
2. "Air baths" at every diaper change. To do this, first air out an empty room, then close the windows, bring the baby in, undress him to the waist, leaving his legs and bottom bare, and leave him like that for 5 minutes.
3. Ventilate the room regularly. In summer, you don't have to close the window at all, and in cold winters, open it regularly up to 5 times a day for 15 minutes each time.
4. Walk outdoors as often and as long as possible. Modern pediatricians recommend doing this in any weather. The only exceptions may be air temperatures below -10 C or strong winds combined with high humidity. The first walk can be done on the second or third day after discharge from the maternity hospital. Its duration is 15-20 minutes. Then - gradually increase the duration of air procedures every day, bringing the stay outside in winter to 1-1.5 hours each time twice a day, and in summer - you can walk all daylight hours. You should only remember about the correct choice of location for a promenade: the clean air of the park will undoubtedly be more useful than a walk along a polluted street on the way to the supermarket or the market.
5. Pour cool water over the baby's feet. This procedure can be done before bedtime: pour water over the baby's feet, then rub them thoroughly with a towel and cover them with a blanket. The initial water temperature for such procedures is +34 C and gradually decreases to +20 C.
6. Bathe the baby daily, finishing the water procedures by pouring cooler water. To do this, prepare a bath with water at a normal temperature of +37 C, then fill a ladle with this water and set it aside. During the time the baby takes water procedures, it will cool down a little in the ladle. After finishing the bath, start pouring water over the baby from the ladle: first the heels, then the spine and finally the head.

The next stage of “water hardening” can be cool baths: every day the temperature of the collected water is reduced by 1C.

And the most important factor for maintaining a strong immunity of the baby can be breastfeeding. After all, as one famous pediatrician says: "Every child is born with a natural strong immune system. And the main task of all relatives is not to interfere." But helping to maintain it is within the power of each of them.