Dr. Brown's

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Delicate Skin – Needs Extra Care in this Time of the Year.

‘A new life of untold joys’, that phrase would easily define the baby’s journey from bump to birth. Babies are bundles of joy so it is instructive to treat them as such. Many parents will attest to the fact that babies come into the world with ultra sensitive skin but absolutely smooth skin. A new born skin is sensitive to a host of potential irritants, especially babies between 0-6 months old as they do not have fully formed skin with all the intrinsic functions and structures like regulating itself, excreting of waste, protection from ultra rays etc.

During this period the skin is characterized by high uptake and loss of moisture, high sensitivity to allergens, slow degradation of toxins and intense skin inflammation due to high surface area of the baby’s epidermis to volume ratio (Good Parenting).

It is reaffirming to know that although the baby’s skin can be annoyingly sensitive, there are simple tips that will aid in adjusting to the demands of the baby’s skin. One factor to keep in mind is “Safety”, you should never compromise your baby’s safety for any product. Here are a few routines…

Bathing/Cleansing: Thanks to global warming, the weather is very elusive. It is important to keep the baby warm, when the weather is cold you can apply soap on a towel and then apply gently, otherwise stick to daily baths as the baby’s skin needs to be cool during the hot season. Generally, cleansing should be done using non-tears formulae (Soaps) and lukewarm water as it aids the baby’s skin lipid set up (Good Parenting). Cleanse the baby’s skin gently with chemical free wipes, lotions and jellies daily to help the baby’s skin in sealing up moisture thus regulating itself.

Diaper Change: The sensitive skin of your baby’s bottom becomes irritated from being in close contact with urine and stools, this in turn leads to diaper rash. It is advisable to frequently change your baby’s diaper, pat her bottom clean with soft baby wipes. If you are using a powder, apply gently with a soft puff and don’t sprinkle or you may gently apply the nappy cream as both protects the baby’s skin from rash by creating a barrier against wetness.

Out and About: As we gradually welcome the Yuletide season and the charades that follows. It is imperative to put our newborns into consideration whenever we are out and about basting in the euphoria of the season. The babies should be kept away from direct sunlight , It is instructive to use protective clothings, tightly woven long sleeved clothes or meet our pediatrician to recommend an appropriate sunscreen for your baby.

Please feel free to drop your special routine as well…seasons greetings.

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Those Babies just keep Coming!

I’m sure by now it is not news that Nigeria is the most populous black nation, ranked 7^th in the world and a budding economy. I recently discovered that a staggering 5.9 million babies are born every year in Nigeria (Worldometer) with the fertility rate of six births per woman. Do the maths. It means there is a new baby every 6 seconds; so you can imagine how many births will happen before you finish reading this article. What is more shocking is that only about 4.9 million babies actually make it to the age of one (UNICEF 2013), as most die after birth due to a variety of reasons, ranging from birth complications, infections and sometimes it is just downright negligence. I had a first hand experience of this issue when my wife was in labour. It was really a life changing event.

So this is my story…

It was a bright Sunday morning and I was about to go and freshen up for church. I was awake all night attending to my 38 weeks pregnant wife as she had some trouble getting out of bed. She’s been suffering a lot recently with so many aches and pains and her little passenger is constantly kicking. For sure, it was only a matter of time before my wife went into labour. The doctor had already told us what to look out for should her waters break. I was certain it wasn’t going to be today at least but little did I know that the little one had other plans.

I was washing my face when she suddenly shouted, ”They’ve broken! My waters have broken honey. ” I quickly ran to her side. Immediately, we made our way to the hospital with our maternity kit. We’d been told that it was really important to take these items to the hospital with us. Most notably, underlay towels and maternity pads to assist with the delivery and after delivery care.

By the time we reached the hospital her contractions were close together and she was in serious, excruciating pain. I felt so anxious. The nurses wheeled her to the labour room but I was overcome by a feeling of deep concern. The room didn’t seem clean and everything seemed a bit disorganised. Apparently, midwives are still using out-dated methods and materials. They are still using newspaper and un-sterilized rubber for child deliveries. What they should and need to be using are clean and specially prepared underlay so that any chance of infection is minimized. Notwithstanding, the nurses and doctors seem very capable to salvage the situation expertly as they have over time horned their skills to adapt and manage this situation. Also, some women are still in the habit of using toilet paper after birth instead of proper maternity pads. All pregnant women need to prepare underlay and maternity pads, at least, as a minimum.

Finally, a bright light shone in the room as my wife delivered our beautiful baby girl. She came out a healthy 3.5kg. I had never felt such immense pride and love all at once. It was around 7pm and the world was good. I looked at my wife and healthy daughter and could breath a sigh of relief at both of them in perfect health.

Monday, 24 August 2015

Product Review:

Baby water wipes are non allergenic wipes composing of 99.9% water and a little extract of grapefruit. It is wetter than normal wipes and contains no harsh chemicals or fragrance. Water is chiefly the major ingredient in this wipes, thus the name natural wipes is earned. The grapefruit extract is of little quantity and acts as a disinfectant and a powerful antibacterial agent.

The baby waterwipes are a suitable alternative to cotton wool and water for newborns. It is gentle, soft and pure for the baby’s delicate layer of skin and also for adults as well. It leaves no irritation or rashes. The water wipes are convenient for all diaper change and general body cleaning of newborns.

Features:

99.9% highly treated Water- truly natural

1% Grapefruit extract- Very gentle on skin

No harsh Chemicals – Pure and Natural

Wetter- It is not like any other regular wipe

Ingredients:

Treated Water, Grapefruit seed extract

Reviews:

Mrs Tope from Oshodi:

I have just started using Dr. Brown's baby water wipes for my 3 weeks old baby. I noticed the baby had little rashes while I was using the cotton wool and warm water solution. Immediately, I started using the baby waterwipes the rashes left.

Irene from Ikorodu:

I have been using Dr.Brown’s regular baby wipes, when I heard of the Baby waterwipes I knew it was going to be a better product. I was not disappointed after using it for my 9 months old baby boy.

Mrs.Deoye from Fadeyi:

At first I wasn’t sure if the wipes were safe, a trial convinced me.

Thursday, 16 July 2015

So, how do you use yours… ?

Monday is always a very busy day at work. My head was still in the weekend, but the build up of work on my desk was telling me otherwise. ‘I can get through today,’ I told myself as I jolted myself into my expected professionalism and slapped on a smile. Break time was almost over and the wear and tear of climbing the office stairs was already telling on my work speed. This woman was in need of a fix, and I needed one quick!

Luckily for me, I remembered I had something naughty but nice in my bag. Just as I was about to take a bite from this piece of heaven something disastrous happened. Tunde, the post boy, bumped his post trolley into my chair and whoosh my creamy stirred latte went all over my desk and … my dress! OMG!!!! Not my beloved Jasper Conran. This was definitely not one of those awful but hilariously funny moments. My heart was in my mouth, I was presenting to the boss today. What could I do now with coffee all over my dress, forming what looked like a map of Antarctica? Well, I did what any sane woman would do in the circumstances. I jumped into action and reached for my trusty baby wipes. Phew! It was a close call, but as sure as eggs my baby wipes saved the day. They helped me mop up all the coffee and scrub away all the stains on my dress, neatly, restoring its look completely. Ah! Panic over and breathe … where would I be without my baby wipes? I quickly put away my snack and coffee cup. I didn’t want to take any chances. Weekend, what weekend?

Later on the train home I got to thinking how funny it was that me, a single, childless, twenty-something had been saved that day by ‘baby wipes’ of all things. A product, whose natural usage was so far removed from my lifestyle and current stage of life. So it got me thinking … how do we use baby wipes all over the world today and how did we ever live without them?

Aside from assisting with everything baby-related indeed, baby wipes have become the ultimate ‘do-everything product,’ cutting across every segment of the population.

Baby wipes can be used to remove make-up, to freshen up, to clean hands, to clean anything in fact ranging from those dusty hardly worn shoes to the bedroom fan. It’s any surface, any time, anywhere product. I’m sure people all over the world use them in many weird and wonderful ways. I myself have tied them around my leg to stem nicks after shaving and my mum cleans the fridge with hers. I also know of one beautician who puts a few drops of witch hazel on a baby wipe and then uses it to freshen up her face before going to bed. Hmmm … I might try that one.

So the question remains, how do you use yours?

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Potty Training- How Important Are Training Pants

POTTY TRAINING is a very important stage in an infant’s life as they transition from diapers to underwear. It is basically the training of a child to use the potty or toilet instead of soiling themselves in their diapers. Another term for it is ‘TOILET TRAINING’. For potty training to be successful the child, ultimately, must want to do it so they need constant motivation.

Cultural factors play a large part in what age is deemed appropriate to start potty training as a lot of research, especially in Africa, assert that a child is expected to be potty trained by ages three to four. Experts assert that it is easier for a child to first learn bowel control than bladder control. Obviously, it is eventually learnt but the process can be speeded up by patient nurturing. Research has proved and it is common knowledge that it usually takes boys longer to potty train compared to girls.

The use of TRAINING PANTS can aid the process of potty training in a positive manner. They are designed to look like normal underwear yet they work the same way as a diaper. Designed to absorb wetness. This paves the way for a natural transition from diapers to underwear. Some training pants are designed with wetness indicators, an image that will smudge when it comes into contact with liquid. This is a brilliant indicator for any parent to identify when their child is wet. Training pants absorb the mess like natural diapers so parents don’t have to worry about accidents, with strong leak protection side panels which gather and control leakages.

Many parents call training pants, “Big boy pants” or “Big girl pants.” As the terminology suggests parents can use this product to encourage the independence and personal growth of their child. The child can physically pull the pants up and down with ease and they also develop a sense of personal pride if and when they are rewarded by their parents for doing so.

Mothers believe that training pants are particularly useful at night because it takes several months for kids to control their bladders at night which means a lot of bed wetting, that often cannot be avoided.

The pants are also useful during long naps or when on a journey. Often children become uncomfortable when they soil themselves wearing ordinary underwear and this is were training pants perform a necessary and useful function during this potty training stage.

Once potty training is underway its essential that the child always knows where the potty is and exactly what it is for. The parent will have to get into the habit of asking the child if they need to use the potty at regular intervals. This will then reinforce the habit of using it. When the child successfully uses the potty it is really important to recognize and praise the child for doing so. For many children, especially boys, potty training can be a long road.

The parent has to consciously commit to train their child until it becomes an effortless task. Training pants can successfully aid this process and be of benefit to both the parents and the child wearing them.

Wednesday, 3 December 2014

Why Not Breast Milk?

From the look of things the lady would be a working class lady, in her early 30s. She sat quietly, her baby fast asleep on her back at the bank reception, staring occasionally at the bank teller. The rest of us were on a queue murmuring and gnashing out at each other after a hard day’s work. Somewhere along the line, the docile baby suddenly jolted awake, as usual this is ushered by a loud cry.

All efforts to pacify the child proved abortive, as the baby was bent on crying out all day long. The mother changed diapers, sang and tried all she could, but it seems there was nothing that would make the baby quiet. Obviously, something was imminently wrong, this crying continued until an elderly woman on the queue who had keenly observed the situation, shouted at the lady “this baby is hungry!”. By this time all eyes were on this woman for awhile, she was numb to the shouts asking her to breast-feed the baby in public. This generated a heated argument amongst in the bank reception which almost led to an outburst. After so many interventions, the woman reluctantly complied with the wishes of the child.

This particular scenario highlights the common trend among Nigerian women, especially the educated ones. Sequel to this article we highlighted the rate at which EBF (Exclusive Breast-Feeding) is dwindling among Nigeria and the world generally as less than 40% of women worldwide breast-feed. It is important to note that most women give reasons.

Here are some of the things some women have to say Mrs. Aderonke (A journalist with a daily tabloid, young mother) “most women can’t afford to expose their breast to public glare”, she went further saying that “many people criticize women who breast-feed publicly”. over the years many woman have discarded the act of breast-feeding and adopted the well known Infant formulas. According to Mrs. Theresa (A banker and a young mother on Lagos Island) explained that part of the reasons she stop breastfeeding her baby early was that her breast began to sag, “even my husband didn’t want me to continue”.

Some women also complained that Breast fed infants tend to cry a lot and get hungry quickly thus they can’t cope with the demand of breast feeding every 10 minutes. Dr. Ajayi Abimbola Deputy Director on Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health in an article explained that, the breast milk is composed of 90% water, which is everything a child needs for growth, and the first substance that comes out of the breast when feeding the baby is water after which the ‘milk like substance’ both have very important roles in the process of breast feeding as the child is satisfied quickly owning to their minute stomach. Within 10 minutes they urinate, flushing out and cleaning their system with the water in the feed but the nutrient is retained. Thus, the child becomes hungry again which oftentimes leads to the crying.

EBF as we know is a singular method of reducing infant mortality. It’s beneficial to both Mother and Child, Newborns that are not breastfed exclusively for at least 6 months are more than three times at greater risk of Sepsis or other infections; 69% risk of respiratory infections and diarrhea [1].

The health benefits for babies at a glance

1) The first milk Mothers produce during the first few days of their babies delivery is called ‘Colostrum’ which contains antibodies that helps in enhancing a strong immune system for the baby [2].

2) Breast feeding is crucial in minimizing life threatening illnesses, as newborns that are not breast fed within the first hour of life are twice as likely to die in their first month of life, compared to those babies who were breastfed within their first hour [4]

3) Breastfeeding could also protect against future occurrence of obesity, overweight, type1 diabetes. [5]

The health benefits for Mothers.

1) When a mother breast feeds immediately after birth ‘oxytoxin’ is released into the body, this hormone helps in the contraction of the mothers uterus. Studies have revealed that a woman uterus during pregnancy is about 20 times its normal size, thus Breast feeding helps a Mother get her normal figure (complete book of pregnancy).

2) Many studies have shown that women who breast feed are at a lower risk of developing breast cancer. Experts have touted that incidence of breast cancer in developing countries could be reduced by half if Mothers exclusively breast feed their babies

3) Many evidences have suggested that breast feeding can significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

Monday, 17 November 2014

Re-branding And Its Benefits

Re-branding a business is the process of creating a new look and feel for an already existing brand or product in order to influence its customer’s perception. This may include changing the name, logo or packaging. Re-branding can be a very challenging but extremely rewarding process. It requires careful consideration and planning to achieve the desired goal which is to breathe new life into a brand to attract new customers and increase its popularity. Nigerian Breweries, Oando, and Glo are examples of Nigerian companies that are constantly re-branding and are enjoying wide acceptance among the Nigerian public.

In 1997, tech giant Apple was very close to declaring bankruptcy, but a little less than 17 years later, stock prices have gone up from $6 to $350 and the company keeps shooting in an upward trajectory. Apple did not only re-brand the company’s name, mascot and logo, but also started producing reliable and elegantly designed products, adding artistry to technology; as changing its name from Apple Computer to Apple enabled the company to produce innovative products such as iMac, iPod, iPad, and iPhone. Apple found a way to polish its brand and create a positive experience for its customers.

Until recently, McDonald’s had the image of a chain that served unhealthy meals sold at exorbitant prices; in fact, critics touted McDonald’s meals to be one of the leading causes of obesity. McDonald’s has since re-branded itself, now serving more healthy meals with reduced prices under the slogan “I’m lovin it”. This makeover appears to be having a ripple effect as there has been a reported 5.3 percent rise in sales according to Business Insider.

Wal-Mart, in a 2007 re-branding, replaced its tagline “Always low price” with “Save money. Live better”. This singular act changed the company’s reputation from offering retails at rock bottom prices to suggesting that buying items at low prices will improve the lifestyle of the customer. In 2010, Wal-Mart was the world’s largest public corporation by revenue, according to the Forbes Global 2000 for that year.

Re-branding is generally aimed at repositioning a brand or company, usually in an attempt to move the brand up market. According to Business Insider, it doesn’t only change the customer’s response to the brand but also helps the brand achieve its goals. It’s a careful strategy; often times subtle and methodical, and may involve both re-imaging and regeneration. Change, as it is said, is inevitable; it is pertinent that companies adopt new strategies when needed rather than sticking with the same strategy for years even when it starts to feel uninteresting with time.

Re-branding is considered a smart business decision for the following reasons:

· Every brand needs refreshing to stay relevant as the 21^st century market is an ever evolving one, re-branding affords companies the chance to sort out a new strategy to make their brand relevant and more importantly, remain relevant.
· Re-branding influences the customers perception, when a product wears a new look, or has a new feel or a company updates its marketing materials and strategies with a careful consideration of the target customer, the customer perception changes and tilts more positively.
· Re-branding offers the opportunity to clarify image, while allowing room for future growth this naturally improves the bottom line by conveying a company’s core value and brand message.
· Re-branding can breathe new life into a business when it is done with a strategy, a process, thought and most importantly for the right reasons. This will set the product or company apart from competitors.

As has been undoubtedly witnessed in the examples of companies that have re-branded, re-branding brings along with it its own basket of gifts both for the company and their customers. It must be stressed that in re-branding, corporate establishments must take the current needs and desires of their customers into consideration but still stay true to themselves as a respectable brand as seen in the example of McDonald’s.

Re-branding must also be meaningful and powerful enough that it would improve the relationship between the company and current customers as well as prospective new ones. Most importantly, companies need to re-brand to stay ahead of competition in a very competitive market where you can get left behind if you don’t keep up with the ever-growing demands of customers and the trends in the society that create such demands. This will ensure that brands don’t lose their usefulness and help them create a stronger voice for their brands.

Source(s):

Business Insider.