274 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
If a Baby Stops Sucking Well or Seems Ill
Examine him carefully and completely as described in Chapter 3. Be sure to check
the following:
• Notice if the baby has difficulty breathing. If the nose is stuffed up, suck it
out as shown on page 164. Fast breathing (50 or more breaths a minute), blue
color, grunting, and sucking in of the skin between the ribs with each breath are
signs of pneumonia (p. 171). Small babies with pneumonia often do not cough;
sometimes none of the common signs are present. If you suspect pneumonia,
treat as for a bacterial infection of the blood (see the next page).
• Look at the baby’s skin color.
If the lips and face are blue, consider pneumonia (or a heart defect or other
problem the baby was born with).
If the face and whites of the eyes begin to get yellow (jaundiced) in the
first day of life or after the fifth day, this is serious. Get medical help. Some
yellow color between the second and fifth day of life is usually not serious. Give
plenty of breast milk by spoon if necessary. Take off all the baby’s clothes and put
him in bright light near a window (but not direct sunlight).
• Feel the soft spot on top of the head (fontanel). See p. 9.
If the soft spot
is SUNKEN,
the baby may be
DEHYDRATED.
If the soft spot is
SWOLLEN, the
baby may have
MENINGITIS.
IMPORTANT: If a baby has meningitis and dehydration at the same time, the soft spot
may feel normal. Be sure to check for other signs of both dehydration (see p. 151)
and meningitis (see p. 185).
• Watch the baby’s movements and expression on his face.
Stiffness of the body or strange movements may be
signs of tetanus, meningitis, or brain damage from birth.
If, when the baby is touched or moved, the muscles
of his face and body suddenly tighten, this could be
tetanus. See if his jaw will open and check his knee
reflexes (p. 183).