On this week’s Ask The GP segment consultant paediatrician Dr Afif El-Khuffash answered Lunchtime Live listeners’ questions about their children’s health. 

First up, one mother messaged in to say they were concerned her baby loved eating sweet foods but was very resistant to anything savoury.

In response, Dr El-Khuffash described this as a “common” phenomenon.

Ask The GP

“A lot of people think that babies should be well established on solids within a couple of months of introducing them,” he said.

“It really varies from baby to baby; we often recommend that they just start with purée.

“The key thing here is to be as diverse as possible with your foods - so, not just focus on the more sweet fruits, for example.

“Give them more savoury and a less sweet variety of fruits and vegetables.

“You need to introduce a new food item to a baby for up to 15 - sometimes 20 - times before they accept it.

“The key here is not to worry and stress about it.”

A child eating vegetables.

Another parent wrote in to say they were worried about the spread of measles in Irish society.

“We all know that in order to get herd immunity - meaning that you limit the spread of measles - 95% of the population need to be vaccinated and that will apply to the class as well,”  Dr El-Khuffash said.

“The good thing is that we know that vaccinated children - even if they do get measles - will get a much milder form of the infection compared to a child that may have not had the vaccination.

“So, I would keep an eye out for the signs; it usually starts with cold/flu like symptoms and then a rash that starts on their face and spreads down to the body.”

The measles. Picture by: Alamy.com

Finally, one new mother said her newborn was reluctant to breastfeed.

“Establishing a breastfeeding relationship can be extremely difficult - especially without the support,” Dr El-Khuffash said.

“The first thing I would tell that Mum is to ask for help.

“If she’s still in the hospital, ask for help; ask for the lactation consultant to come and see you.

“Why are you pumping? Is there an issue with the latch? Is there an issue maintaining the latch?”

Main image: A baby eating. Picture by: Alamy.com