Confused moms

Faced with the responsibility of taking care of her own baby now, young moms usually follow their mom's advice on how to care of their babies. Sometimes, even lolas and aunties would give unsolicited advice on how to take care of the new angel of the family. And this is when old beliefs and new scientific ways in caring for the baby dash leaving the young mom more confused.

Simple things like bathing the very delicate body of the baby, or holding that limp head, or sanitizing the umbilical cord area can be a big deal with new moms.

Some moms would wish that there was a school to prepare them for all that, so that the joys of motherhood would be experienced from the very start.

School for new moms

Just recently, Johnson's Baby launched a Baby Ready School to do just that. Through the help of expert neonatologists, pediatricians and midwives, this school will present a series of fun, informative and interactive workshops for pregnant moms which will educate and assist moms in the basic concerns of infant skin care.

This Baby Ready School and Newborn Care Protocol will be introduced to a total of 3,000 moms from 15 barangays in Metro Manila. Afterwards, a series of this kind of seminars will be given in different barangays in the country.

Proper bathing techniques-an important aspect in taking care of one's baby-will be presented. The popular Touch Therapy (or infant massage) will also be demonstrated. Resource speakers will tackle proper infant skin care, moisturizing, diaper change, breastfeeding and "kangaroo" mother care, as well.

The sessions will be informal and will allow moms to consult with the medical experts. As a treat, moms will receive a Johnson.s Baby Top-to-Toe Wash Newborn Kit, which will provide them with the necessary skin care information and products to use on their delicate newborns. The kit contains a 16-page Newborn Care Guide, which is a handbook of the information they will learn in school.

Moms who cannot attend the Baby Ready School can also learn via texting "BABY" to 2366 to get weekly baby care tips, or across the Top-to- Toe Wash Baby Ready Website through http://www.babycenter.com.

Newborn care protocol

Alongside the Baby Ready School, Johnson and Johnson partnered with the local medical experts in newborn and infant care to put together a Newborn Care Protocol for both health care providers and mothers on standards in perinatal and neonatal care. According to Dr. Socorro Mendoza of the Philippine Society of Newborn Medicine, "the Newborn Care Protocol not only covers topics such as: general newborn assessment, immunization, nutrition, and preventive pediatric health care, but also the commonly left out recommendations like breastfeeding, "kangaroo" mother care, and touch therapy."