Ayurveda is a science that imparts the knowledge concerned to life, the main aim being to provide guidelines for maintenance and promotion of health, as well as prevention and treatment of diseases. It consists of eight branches of which Kaumarabhrtya (Child Health Care) is one.
The references of the subject found scattered in ancient literature have been recapitulated and discussed in the book under different chapters. The chapter Care of Newborn deals with various aspects related to newborn like resuscitation, feeding, protective measures and general care. These are the original contributions of Ayurvedic savants like Caraka and Susruta, though the concepts are also available in Buddhist and Jain literature. The concept Breast is Bet really come from Vedic period. Role of dhatri (wet-nurse) has been considered very vital and discussed in chapter on Infant Feeding. The Chapter General Care of Children covers protective measures, proper handling and psychological Care of Child. Unique description available in ancient texts description available in ancient texts regarding dentition, has been mentioned in a separate Chapter. Ancient Ayurvedic scholars have kept the provision of clinical examination of healthy child for assessing his longevity and a diseased for diagnosis of diseases. The description is included in Chapter Clinical examination of Children. Ample references are available regarding principles of treatment and drug therapy of Children. Initially the texts of ancient period have discussed only about the specific problems of children, but in the literature of later period, recipes for some common diseases, especially formulated for children have been described, are discussed in a separate Chapter Diseases of Children and their treatment. |
