Scope: infant mortality and money. This section only covers what affects whether the child survives or how much you spend, and only where the gap is large enough and the evidence is solid. Soothing and day-to-day parenting tips are not covered here. For tasks before birth and on the day of discharge, see Section 27.
English, Russian and Spanish use dlgrv’s unofficial translations. Newly revised entries appear in the Chinese original until a checked translation is available. The author’s latest Chinese text is authoritative. Translation revision: dlgrv/HowToLiveBetter · b25fa8a
While the child is still an infant, lay the child face up on a firm surface that does not incline. An inclined cradle or an infant seat cannot be used as a bed. The adult and the child sleep in the same room, but not in the same bed. Do not put soft things on the bed, such as pillows, quilts, bed bumpers, or stuffed toys. In the United States alone, about 3500 infants die each year from causes related to sleep.
Cost
This costs nothing upfront. However, you’ll need to replac…
Benefit
Each year, nearly 3,500 infants in the U.S. lose their lives to sleep-related issues, including sudden infant…
The 1st dose of hepatitis B vaccine has to be given within 24 hours after the child is born. Among people infected in infancy or early childhood, about 95% go on to chronic hepatitis. People infected only after they are grown mostly get better on their own, so this dose is more useful the earlier it is given. If the mother's hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, the child also needs hepatitis B immune globulin within 12 hours of birth, at the same time.
Cost
No cost at all. The hepatitis B vaccine is part of the rou…
Benefit
The World Health Organization says: "All infants should receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible af…
Vaccines on the national immunization schedule are free for the whole series, and the vaccination provider cannot charge. Daycare and school both check the vaccination certificate, and a missed dose is generally found and made up. If you missed some, you only catch up the doses not yet finished. You do not start the whole series over, and you can continue even if the manufacturer changes.
Cost
Absolutely free. Laws explicitly state that vaccination ce…
Benefit
When a child enters daycare or school, the daycare or the school checks the vaccination certificate. If the ch…
Start feeding in the 1st hour after the child is born. For the first 6 months, feed only breast milk, not even water. From a full 6 months, add complementary foods, with iron-rich animal foods every day, and keep breastfeeding to 2 years or longer. If there is not enough breast milk, or breastfeeding is not possible, use formula.
Cost
This costs nothing;
Benefit
The World Health Organization recommends initiating breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. It also a…
Formula is not sterile. It can carry a bacterium that kills 4 in 10 to 8 in 10 of the newborns who catch it. Pour the hot water in first, wait until it falls to about 73.8 °C, then add the powder. In most cases that can kill this bacterium down to below 1/100000 of what it was. Hot water leaves a bit less vitamin C, but the formulas that were measured still met the standard. Let it cool after mixing, then feed. Throw away what is left.
Cost
No monetary cost. It only requires a few extra minutes of…
Benefit
Powdered formula is not sterile. It can carry Cronobacter sakazakii. The reported death rate after a newborn i…
If the child is under 1 year of age, do not feed honey. Honey water, honey mixed into complementary foods, and pastries that contain honey all count. Honey can carry the bacterium that causes botulism. The bacteria in an adult's gut can hold it down. An infant's cannot.
Cost
No cost involved
Benefit
According to the Chinese CDC, “Do not feed honey to children under 1 year of age” because “honey may contain b…
A newborn has very little vitamin K stored. Without a supplement, bleeding can occur, and the kind that shows up late is often bleeding in the brain. In Tashkent, where this prevention was not generally done, 478 out of every 100000 newborns had this bleeding. With prevention, the estimate is that more than 78% can be cut. For a home birth, or a birth at an irregular facility, ask whether it was given.
Cost
0 to several dozen yuan. This cost is usually already incl…
Benefit
A newborn has very little vitamin K stored. Without a supplement, vitamin K deficiency bleeding can occur, and…
If the child is under 3 months and the temperature reaches 38 °C, go to the hospital directly. Do not watch at home, and do not give a fever medicine first and then wait. The American Academy of Pediatrics set a specific plan for febrile infants who still look all right, so "looking all right" is not a reason to wait at home. The UK guidance also counts a child under 3 months with a fever of 38 °C as high risk of serious illness.
Cost
Registration and tests cost several hundred yuan.
Benefit
The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a specific guideline for full-term infants from 8 to 60 days of age w…
A baby’s head makes up a large proportion of their body size, yet their neck muscles are still very weak. Shaking them forcefully can cause bleeding inside the brain and eyes, potentially leading to death or lifelong disabilities. Gentle rocking while trying to soothe them is not dangerous; the real risk comes from uncontrolled, violent shaking. When you feel yourself losing control, place the baby back in their crib and step away for a few minutes. Letting them cry for a short while is far safer than holding them and shaking them.
Cost
There is no monetary cost. The real difficulty lies in res…
Benefit
Because a baby’s head is proportionally large and their neck muscles are underdeveloped, violent shaking can r…
No government agency has ever published an official ranking of “the best diaper brands.” The only information available comes from two sources: quality inspection reports issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, and official investigations into specific incidents. A higher price tag does not guarantee safety, nor does being an imported product mean it meets safety standards. It’s wise to start by buying a small pack and using it for a week to check if your child develops rashes or skin irritation; only then should you consider buying in bulk.
Cost
Prices range from a few hundred to over a thousand yuan pe…
Benefit
Since no official body has released any “best brand” list, this guide does not recommend any specific brands.…
Strollers, wraps and toys are used briefly: borrow first, buy used if needed, then new. Use a secondhand car seat only if you can confirm it has had no moderate or severe crash, has not been recalled and has all parts. A Scottish study linked routinely using another child’s mattress with higher SIDS odds, without establishing the mattress as the cause. Prefer a new mattress.
Cost
No extra money is needed;
Benefit
Strollers, cribs, swaddles, and toys are all used for a short time, and the used market has far more supply th…
In the trial, infants with severe eczema or egg allergy started regular peanut consumption at 4–11 months. Among those initially skin-test negative, 1.9% of consumers versus 13.7% of avoiders had peanut allergy at age 5. With a small initial skin-test reaction, the figures were 10.6% versus 35.3%. See a doctor before introducing peanut. Never give whole peanuts.
Cost
A jar of peanut butter costs just a few dozen yuan. Feedin…
Benefit
The LEAP trial involved 640 infants aged 4–11 months with severe eczema, egg allergy, or both. One group ate p…
More than 8 in 10 newborns are a bit yellow. Yellow before 24 hours of age, or yellow together with being sleepier than usual and hard to wake, not feeding, or a body that is floppy or stiff, means go to the hospital immediately. After 24 hours, getting yellower, or stool that turns pale, also means get it checked soon. Pale stool can be biliary atresia (胆道闭锁). Bilirubin that is too high can injure the brain and leave a disability for life.
Cost
Registration plus bilirubin testing, within a few hundred…
Benefit
The American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 guideline says "more than 80% of newborns will have some degree of jau…
Vitamin B12 is found almost only in meat, eggs, and milk. Someone eating fully vegan has to rely on fortified foods or a supplement. If the mother eats fully vegan and does not supplement, a breastfed child is likely to run short. The trouble usually shows at 4 to 8 months of age: not growing, development falling behind, and, if it drags on, nerve damage that may not come back. The child's complementary foods need animal foods every day.
Cost
A bottle of vitamin B12 supplements costs a few dozen yuan…
Benefit
In 2003 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2 children. Both were breastfed by mothers…
A child sitting in a baby walker can shoot more than 0.9 meters in 1 second, and most injuries happen while an adult is right there watching. From 1990 to 2014, children in the United States made about 230000 emergency visits because of baby walkers. 9 in 10 of the injuries were to the head and neck, mostly the child and the walker falling down stairs together. A baby walker also does not teach a child to walk.
Cost
No money, and you save the price of 1 walker. A stationary…
Benefit
From 1990 to 2014, children under 15 months who went to emergency care for a baby-walker injury made an estima…
Breast milk has very little vitamin D, and an infant should not be in the sun for long, so it has to be supplemented every day. In a rural area of Turkey, 3.8% of the children who were not supplemented got rickets within 1 year, and not 1 of the children who were supplemented got it. Give the amount the doctor says. A normal full-term child generally does not need extra calcium in the first 6 months.
Cost
1 bottle of vitamin D drops is a few dozen yuan, given 1 t…
Benefit
A Cochrane review in 2020 says breast milk is low in vitamin D, and an infant who takes only breast milk is li…
Hot water at 65 °C, in contact for 2 seconds, gives most adults a 3rd-degree burn, and an infant's skin is thinner. Put cold water in the basin first, then mix in hot. Stir it even, test it with the inside of the wrist or the elbow, and only then put the child in. Do not wash the child under a running tap. After 1 US state lowered the factory outlet temperature of water heaters to 49 °C, hospital admissions of children for hot-water burns fell by more than 1/2.
Cost
No money. Each bath takes 1 or 2 extra minutes to test the…
Benefit
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says most adults get a 3rd-degree burn from 2 seconds in water at 15…
