In today’s world of industrialization, alongside the current havoc of the pandemic, have you wondered whether you’ve been doing everything to protect your little one from being exposed to germs and microbes every day? According to most pediatricians, four to six colds, stomach indigestion, or ear infections occurring annually is normal. To minimize these numbers and simultaneously prevent your baby’s immunity from weakening, here are a few ways to strengthen the immune system for your child.

1. Breastfeed more often: If talking about foods which strengthen the immune system in infants, as suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics, every mother must only breastfeed exclusively up till the child is six months old. This is because breast milk is rich in immunity-building antibodies and white blood cells that protect against health issues such as allergies, infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and extreme conditions such as sudden infant death syndrome. Did you know that Colostrum, the thin yellow milk type that ejaculates from the breasts during the initial days post partum, is especially rich in disease-fighting antibodies?
   
   

2. Sanitize yourself before holding the baby: According to the CDC (Centre for Disease Control & Prevention), new parents (even visitors) should always sanitize their clothes and wash their hands well with soap and water before holding their little one, if you have arrived from outside the home premises.

3. Kangaroo Care for your newborn: The frequent skin-to-skin contact of baby with both his parents helps transmit various microbes that highly builds newborn’s immunity. Few of the added benefits of Kangaroo Care in newborns is a stabilized newborn heart rate, decrease in crying, more breastfeeding episodes, and increase in baby’s sleep time.
   
   
   

4. Incorporating Supplements in diet: Apart from breast milk, sometimes your child’s pediatrician may recommend probiotics. Probiotics are recommended as an alternative way of boosting the immune system of infants. Probiotics are safe to use in late pregnancy as well as post childbirth, but should only be used under the supervision or recommendation of a child expert.

5. Regular Vaccination: Vaccinating your child on time is the best way to steer clear of serious health diseases in the near future. For every baby, they get their first vaccine at birth, then another after 6 weeks, another after 4 months, 6 months, and so on in their first couple of years of life. Amazing fact is, most pregnant women are vaccinated for whooping cough in their third trimester, so that their immunity is passed on to their babies.
   
   
   

6. Move your child as often as you can: Your child’s gut microbes diversifies better when they have access to at least 60 minutes of activity everyday either on the floors indoors, or outdoor places such as park benches. This contact with diverse microbes rapidly builds your baby’s immunity against a larger family of invading pathogens.
   
   

Do you know the most simple and effective way of how to strengthen the immune system naturally in infants? Sleeping. Since infants take up almost 16 hours of crib time a day, their immune system is already enhancing, as sleeping helps increase natural killer cells in the body that attack microbes and cancer cells. As stated earlier, babies getting sick is normal, since their immune system is still building and doesn’t fully develop until the child is around 7-8 years of age. Please do not panic at such times, and consult your pediatrician for urgent, genuine attention.