Five Health Checks For 2021

Here are the things to prioritise when it comes to your family’s health this year!

- Amy Greenburg

#1 Baby and children’s well checks

If your child is well, and without symptoms, why would it be important to go for a check-up? Well, childhood is a time of rapid growth and development. So, whether you’ve got a brand new baby or a nine-year-old, well baby checks and annual physical exams are fundamental to ensuring that your child is growing well and as expected for his or her age.

In fact, tracking your child’s growth and development is crucial to his or her overall health, explains DR GINA DAHEL, a paediatric trained doctor based at IMC Children’s.

For babies

Developmental assessments are designed to monitor how your child grows and changes over time, and examine whether your child meets the typical milestones with gross and fine motor skills, vision, hearing and social development. Any problems can be picked up early and managed right away, says Dr Dahel. This can greatly improve your child’s outcome.

“Each visit also provides an opportunity to discuss any parental concerns you may have, and get evidence-based advice on weaning, feeding and caring for your baby,” she says.

Most of the baby’s well visits will coincide with vaccinations. So, in addition to a well check one week after birth and one month after birth, this usually means visits at two, four, six, nine, 12, 15, 18 and 24 months.

At IMC Children’s , a well baby consultation includes:

• discussion of any on-going medical issues;

• identification and discussion of any new issues;

• discussion of baby’s feeding, diet, bowel movements and sleeping;

• developmental screening;