Baby Health and Safety - Find Answers To Your Baby's Health And Safety Issues

With all the scary coverage in the press about child predators and adults who want to do harm to children, it can be easy to forget that most of the babies in the Western world who sadly get hurt or killed are involved in accidents in their homes or in their parents' vehicles - surrounded by adults who love them and would never wish them any harm at all. That's why baby health and safety awareness is so important. Whether you're a first time Mom-to-be or a veteran parent with four kids already, it's never too early to learn about child safety, or to simply refresh your knowledge.

Infant Safety On The Move

Driver safety is the key to keeping your baby safe on the road. If you as a driver obey the rules of the road, don't speed and don't take driving risks, you're already doing a lot to protect your child. Of course, you can't be responsible for the behavior of other drivers - that's why you need a baby car seat.

The car seat is designed to secure your baby in a comfortable, safe position in such a way as to ensure he comes to the least possible harm should your vehicle be involved in an accident. Even after your child outgrows your baby car seat, he'll need a booster car seat until he's around 8 years old, to help him use an adult seatbelt safely.

Safety standards for infant car seats are improving all the time. The best way to ensure that you have a safe product is to buy new and from a reputable car seat manufacturer.

Baby Home Safety

Baby proofing your home is an eye-opening experience for the first time parent. Unless you can remember what it was like to be a baby or toddler (and that's unlikely) you really don't know just what trouble they can get into by coming into contact with seemingly innocent inanimate objects.

You'll find lots of advice about baby safety online and your baby clinic can probably also provide you with some information about removing hazards, etc. Other parents of young kids also tend to be experts on this kind of thing, so don't forget to pick their brains!

Another element of baby home safety is making sure that the products you bring into your home for your baby are safe. Baby high chairs, toys, bouncers and swings are all baby products that must be used carefully and in accordance with the instructions if you want to avoid accidents. Occasionally, baby products are recalled for safety reasons. You can find product safety recall updates on the website of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.

Infant Health And Nutrition

Of course, baby nutrition plays a big role in keeping your baby healthy. The best source of personal advice on baby foods and nutrition for your child is your pediatrician, but there are many reliable medical websites which can give you general pointers.

First Aid Training

If you want to start a family, first aid training should definitely be part of your parenting plan. You can find a first aid course through your health care provider or baby doctor. The best courses will give you emergency training in how to deal with crises like baby choking or even what to do when a baby stops breathing.

Don't think that because you've seen the doctors do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on TV you have a basic idea of how resuscitation works. Giving a baby CPR is not the same as giving it to an adult - you have to use your finger tips rather than the heel of your hand on the chest for a start. A good first aid training course will teach you to do this on a dummy baby - hopefully that's the closest you'll ever get to carrying out infant CPR.

Of course, first aid training will also teach you how to cope with more minor emergencies - cuts, bruises, blisters, etc.

Inform Yourself

You should also be aware of infant safety issues and infant illnesses. Knowing how to spot early warning signs of a baby health problem can potentially save you and your baby a lot of heartache. Pregnancy-info.net is a great source of exactly this type of information, as is your health care provider.

First Aid Kits

Equipping yourself with a decent first aid care kit is essential when you have kids around the house. Many parents find that if they buy equipment for every eventuality, they end up with a first aid cupboard rather than just a kit. You may want to consider buying a kit that comes pre-packed with all the essentials, to avoid overload. These can be bought via the internet, or from your pharmacy.