Pediatricians are doctors who manage the health of your child, including physical, behavior, and mental health issues. They're trained to diagnose and treat childhood illnesses, from minor health problems to serious diseases. Pediatricians have an education that gives them special skills to take care of your child's health. 

Dr. Shekhar Biswas, Pediatrician and Director, Kindergarten Clinic, New Delhi, throws light on the importance of vaccinations

Importance of vaccinations

It is seen that 1 in 25 parents postpone a vaccine due to their child's fear of visiting a doctor to which Dr. Shekhar stresses that vaccination is a very essential preventive medical intervention for kids in order to prevent future morbidities/mortalities. According to WHO, the mortality/ death rate attributing to Vaccine-preventable Diseases (VPD) in India is over 5 lacs annually. “Parents should understand the importance of timely vaccination for their kids for covering all the VPD’s. Further, with only a small window period of vaccination in the newborn for some diseases like rotavirus, which is around the first 15 weeks, it cannot be delayed. As even a day delayed after the stipulated window period will not be able to benefit the child. And hence parents need to be educated and get vaccinations on time without delay,” he says. “Parents must follow all the safety measures including proper sanitization, avoid crowding and follow social distancing, but kids under the age of 2 years should not wear masks (in order to avoid suffocation). This can be followed by taking prior appointments from their doctors in order to avoid the rush,” he says. Speaking of his secret mantra to handle fussy kids,

Dr. Shekhar says, “In my clinical practice less than 10% kids fear me for vaccination because I always involve them in some activities and also reward them with goodies and that allays the fear in them. In fact, many parents have told me that my child asked me to go to the doctor uncle because he/she is not well.”

BCG vaccine is seen as a new hope for COVID-19

“While we need to understand that BCG vaccinated population has a trend towards the low degree of infection but this doesn’t mean that one is completely immune to COVID infection as an individual,” says Dr. Shekhar. “It just states that the body’s immune system is stronger than those without BCG vaccination. Still, there is a need to follow all the standard precautionary measures as indicated by the Government of India,” he says.

Effect of COVID-19 on Indian healthcare

Indian healthcare is divided into two parts: The government and the private sector. Government sectors are on the verge of being overwhelmed due to a huge load of cases as seen in Delhi and that’s why the private sector has been roped in to give better care but again it comes at a cost that most common Indians cannot afford. “During the times of such pandemic crisis, there is a need for the Government to provide treatment at subsidized cost by giving some relief packages to the private sector,” he says. 

Ensuring good physical and mental health of the child during this pandemic

Due to schools, playgrounds, and other activity centers being closed, how can we ensure good physical and mental health of the child during this pandemic? Dr. Shekhar suggests, “Children should be put under a routine even if they are at home. They should be encouraged to wake up early and should participate in age-appropriate physical activity along with the parents (because you are their role model). Apart from that they should be discouraged from screen viewing (< 60 min/day) and parents should involve kids in activities like crafts, drawing, singing and board games.”

Kids fear the new normal avatar

A pediatrician needs to be close to the child and sometimes pacify crying and fearful kids with their facial expressions but with the New Normal they have to wear protective gear like masks, scrubs, and keep social (or physical) distance. In such a scenario, children are likely to be experience worry, anxiety, and fear. “New normal is not at all normal and I really feel bad when I see small kids coming to my clinic wearing a big mask, but again prevention is better than cure so we have to follow all norms. But still, I keep my clinic decorated with toys and goodies and that helps me a lot to connect to my little patients,” he says.

Advice to working parents to provide balanced nutrition to their children

Pediatric obesity is one of the fast-growing ailments among kids which can be attributed to long term metabolic diseases in the future. Processed foods are one of the leading causes of obesity in children and that causing increasing lifestyle diseases in India like diabetes and hypertension. “We should encourage home-based diet (consisting of vegetables and fruits) with emphasis on physical activity and yoga. Parents should also understand the need for optimal weight according to their kids’ height and age. While most of the mother’s emotionally connect with kids being slim and want to feed them more. This should be done in proportion to the amount of physical activity and in consultation with their pediatrician,” he says. 

“Balanced nutrition is nothing but to avoiding junk foods. Parents should include more green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits in their kids’ diet. Further toddlers above the age of one year should also have an intake of milk not more than 300 mL per day. Overall, the daily calorie intake should be optimum as per the age and physical activity. Instead of providing fruit juice, parents should encourage their children to consume fresh fruits. A balanced diet should include proportions of all nutrients in the required quantity,” suggests Dr. Shekhar.

Corona front-line warriors

As a frontline worker, this pandemic has taken a toll on doctors’ professional as well as personal life. “Professionally, treating patients on online platforms and that too without healing touch is against our ethics as well as our teachings in medical schools but again this is new normal! Personally, we are afraid that we being at 11 times greater risk than the general population are exposing our kids, spouse and elderly parents to this deadly virus, but as we are healers we will have to continue our fight against corona keeping our personal issues at bay, which we need to manage as medical professionals,” he says.

(Edited By Rabia Mistry)