Common health issues in newborns and toddlers

It is perfectly normal for your young child not to feel well all the time. Young children need a lot of care before they are prepared to lead their own lives. At times, the first few years could be a rocky road for your newborn or toddler to travel.

Young children of course have a lot of growing to do, but their bodies also need to build up in many other ways. Their skin has to mature into a highly effective barrier that protects them externally world, their guts have to get accustomed to digesting various foods and their little bodies need to develop their immune system for this to address infections more efficiently.

Common baby problems for example skin irritations, feeding issues or coughs and colds are therefore simply signs that your baby's body is just coping with the standard challenges of becoming an adult. But at other times your baby or young child may develop a disease that requires a bit of additional help, or which occasionally might even be dangerous. Most problems here aren't serious, and you can cope with many of them yourself - at least initially.

Your child's skin

In the same way that most adults don't look like supermodels, your newborn baby, although very special, is not likely to appear like those seemingly perfect babies in TV adverts or baby magazines. Minor skin blemishes are incredibly common, as are various rashes. Most of these problems are completely harmless and absolutely nothing to bother with, especially if your child is well in other respects.

Birthmarks

Most babies have at least some moles or spots, which come in various forms, colours, shapes and sizes and usually appear for no no reason. These marks can feel alarming to an alternative parent, but fortunately most are nothing to worry about, plus some even disappear on their own in time. Treatment is rarely necessary. Here is a brief description of a few of the more common birthmarks:

Mongolian blue spot: This problem looks like a bluish-grey bruise and is more common in babies of races with darker skin. The spots are completely benign and go away without treatment before your day when your baby blows out two birthday candles.
Pigmented spots: Brownish patches called cafe-au-lait spots can be found on some babies. These spots are usually harmless, but if your baby has a large number of them or additional symptoms, visit your doctor to rule out some potential underlying conditions.
Port-wine stain: This problem usually involves a flat mark appearing on the face or limbs, sometimes covering quite a large section of skin. The objective doesn't tend to change size or colour and doesn't disappear by itself. Laser treatments are effective in the age of 8 weeks onwards, but several treatments may be needed before the mark disappears completely.
Stork bite: Also called salmon patch, stork bite is a small pink-coloured mark that may appear on the back of your baby's neck, or even the forehead, eyes or lips. Most marks disappear by the time your child reaches 1.5 years and rarely last longer than three years. No treatment is generally necessary.
Strawberry naevus: A bright red and slightly raised mark that may look dramatic, strawberry naevus is generally completely harmless. The mark can grow quite fast in the first couple of months of life but then has a tendency to get smaller again over the next few years. In most cases, it disappears completely, and treatment isn't necessary unless the objective is very near to the eye and affects your child's vision.

In most cases, you discuss these problems with a midwife, hospital practitioner or health visitor soon after the newborn's birth, but when you're worried for any reason consult your doctor.

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