Old Wives’ Tips for Newborns Doctors Advise Against

If you have been blessed with a baby recently, you are probably familiar with the concept of unsolicited advice. Anyone and everyone you meet – right from family and friends to random strangers on the street – have a quick remedy or tip to share with you. This constant supply of often contradicting information can be overwhelming for a new mom. While those sharing their two cents of wisdom with you often mean well, some of these ‘remedies’ and pro-tips from self-appointed parenting experts can actually put your baby under undue stress.

Here are 5 old wives’ tips that doctors strongly advise against:

Gripe Water for Colic

Gripe water is a household name in India and a favorite remedy for easing gas and colic in babies for our parents’ and grandparents’ generation. However, pediatricians today strongly advise against using gripe water, especially for infants and babies under six months. Back in the day, gripe water comprised a mix of dill seed oil, alcohol, and sodium bicarbonate. Even though most manufacturers have discontinued use of alcohol in gripe water, it is still high on sugar content, which along with sodium bicarbonate, is not good for your baby. If you are looking for some instant relief measure for those colic troubles, try using Colic Aid or Cyclopam drops instead.

Honey Concoction At Birth

It is an age-old custom in our country to feed janam ghutti to newborns. However, doctors forbid administering any such concoction to newborns as these are made from honey. In fact, it is not advisable to give honey to a child under 1 as it could lead to infant botulism. Botulism is triggered by spores that can be present in honey and lead to the production of toxins in a baby’s intestines.

Using Kajal for Good Eye Sight

Yes, newborns have limited vision but their eyesight improves naturally as they grow. Back in the day, soot collected from burning almonds was applied to a newborn’s eyes. Though that practice is obsolete now, the trend of applying kajal to a newborn’s eyes is still prevalent. Avoid it all cost as the chemicals present in cosmetic kajal's can irritate your baby’s eyes.

Walker for Babies

Baby walkers are another favorite in Indian homes. We have all probably spent a good amount of our childhood days zipping about in those wheeled walkers. However, the use of walkers is banned in several Western countries and doctors in India are discouraging parents from using walkers as it increases the risk of injury and delays meeting of the development of motor skills such as cruising and walking.

Carrots to Soothe Teething Troubles

New moms are often advised to ditch teethers and give babies carrots to chew on for soothing those itchy gums during teething. Some people also recommend rubbing a mix of borax (suhaga) and honey on the gums to soothe the itch. However, carrots can be a choking hazard for the baby, and borax and honey have the potential to do more harm than good. Stick to the good old teethers!

Ubtan For Removing Excess Hair

A lot of babies are born with a generous growth of villus hair. Trust the grannies of the house to come running with a besan ubtan to remove any unwanted hair from your baby’s face and body. However, this can irritate the baby’s skin and cause a rash. Those hair will come off naturally over the next 12 weeks or so. Just hang in there and resist the urge to use ubtan on your baby’s tender skin.