Worried Mother Seeks Help for Baby with Pneumonia

One early morning, a mother came to my house with her baby. She looked worried and asked me to examine her baby. I invited her into my house and asked her to make herself comfortable. I told her not to worry. I saw the baby was having difficulty breathing. He had a runny nose and he was coughing. I examined him with an ARI timer and found his breathing was more than the normal rate. I told the mother that her baby had pneumonia but I assured her it was nothing to worry about. I gave her Cotrim syrup and advised her to feed to feed the baby one spoonful every 12 hours. That is one spoonful in the morning and another spoonful at night for the next five days. I also advised her to make sure the baby does not get too warm or too cold, and to feed him warm honey-basil water, with a normal diet. I asked her to bring the baby immediately to my house whenever she feels anything might be wrong. After that, every day, I went to her house for a follow-up visit and checked the baby’s breaths. Soon they became normal again, although the baby still had a little cold. I told the mother she must be sure to continue giving the medicine twice a day, every day, for the full 5 days. I held a courtyard session on young child feeding, just to refresh the memories of the mothers on the value of three different kinds of food for their babies (proteins, vegetables/fruits, and carbohydrates/fats) and what happens if they are not fed correctly. On 20th of this month, my stepmother died. So I went to my father’s house immediately.