Updated list of child’s vaccinations must

Health professionals discussed several aspects of childcare and paid particular emphasis to the importance of breastfeeding, vaccinations and keeping an eye on your child’s milestones.

Dr Fatima Sultan Al Olama, consultant and head of child healthcare unit at DHA’s Primary Healthcare Sector, said, “The DHA hospitals and health clinics provide women with support and guidance with regard to breastfeeding right from the time they visit our antenatal clinics to after delivery. Our hospitals even have a helpline to guide and support women facing difficulties with breastfeeding. We pay so much attention to breastfeeding education because breastfeeding has numerous health benefits for the baby and mother. The bottom-line is that unless a mother has some medical difficulties, she should exclusively breastfeed until her baby is at least 6 months of age. If there are hurdles, women should immediately contact their lactation consultant because when they delay seeking advice and treatment, more often than not, they give up breastfeeding altogether.”

Al Olama also highlighted that parents should maintain an updated record of their child’s vaccinations and they should not miss any vaccinations. “Parents should also ensure that prior to travelling with their children on holiday, they consult their doctor to check what specific or additional vaccinations are needed to protect the child from certain diseases prevalent in the country where they intend to travel. These vaccinations should be given at least 2 weeks prior to the date of travel or they may be useless.”

She added that DHA’s primary healthcare sector has dedicated traveller clinics where mothers can not only understand what vaccines are needed but also get general health tips and travel advice.

Dr Badriya Mussa Karam, Senior Health Educator at DHA’s Primary Healthcare Centre, said: “We know of cases where the vaccinations are not given enough time prior to travel and then the child picks up the disease because he did not build up his defence against it.”

Dr Haitham Mahmoud Mohammed, paediatrician in child health unit at DHA’s Primary Healthcare Sector, said that parents also need to be aware of their children’s milestones so that if they are missed the problem is detected early.

Mohammed said: “As a child grows and develops, he learns different skills, such as smiling for the first time, saying his first word etc. These skills are known as developmental milestones. There is normal variation around what age children will achieve a specific developmental milestone. Developmental delay refers to a child who is not achieving milestones within the age range of that normal variability.”

Mohammed said the challenge for parents is to identify whether the developmental delay is just a phase or it is due to a disability that will cause a long-term issue with development or learning.  “Most often, at least initially, it is difficult or impossible to determine whether the delay is a marker of a long-term issue with development or learning (i.e. known as a disability) Therefore parents need to be alert, take note of the delays and visit a therapist to ensure early detection.”

Mohammed said the developmental milestones include gross motor skills, fine motor skills, social and emotional skills and language skills.

Mohammed said milder forms of cerebral palsy, autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (ADHC) are the disorders that are usually missed and parents bring their children when they are of school-going age. “The earlier the diagnosis the better the chances are of long-term recovery for the child. The best outcomes are in children who are diagnosed as early as possible.”