Our editorial policy: how we write about health
This page exists because the honest version is more useful than the reassuring one, particularly on health.
What we use as sources
Indian guidance first where it exists: the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the National Health Mission, and the relevant Acts where the law matters — POCSO, the PCPNDT Act, the Maternity Benefit Act, the Infant Milk Substitutes Act.
International guidance where Indian guidance is silent or where the evidence base is international: the World Health Organization, and the major paediatric and obstetric colleges.
We prefer guidance to single studies, and we say when the evidence is weak or contested rather than picking the version that reads better.
Where a practice is traditional and has no evidence behind it, we describe the tradition accurately and then say what the evidence shows. Being dismissive about a living tradition is neither accurate nor useful.
What our review actually covers
Named reviewers are credited on our pages with their real job titles. They review for editorial quality, cultural accuracy and whether a page is genuinely useful to an Indian parent.
They are not clinicians, and they do not verify clinical claims. We never render 'medically reviewed by', because that would be untrue.
So: our health articles have not been reviewed by a doctor. They are written against published guidance, they are checked editorially, and they are not a substitute for a clinician who has seen your child.
We are working towards clinical review for the health content. Until that exists, every affected page says so in its own words rather than in a footnote nobody reads.
How to use a health page here
Use the 'when to see a doctor' section as the part that matters. It is on every health page and it is written to be specific — a temperature, a number of nappies, a week of pregnancy — because a vague threshold is not a threshold.
If a page and your own doctor disagree, your doctor has seen your child and we have not.
In an emergency do not read anything. Call 108 for an ambulance, or 112. For mental health, Tele-MANAS is free and round the clock on 14416. For a child at risk, Childline is 1098.
Nothing on this site should delay care. If you are weighing whether to go in, that is usually the answer.
Corrections, updates and how to reach us
Every article shows the date it was last updated. When guidance changes, we change the page rather than publishing a new one.
If you find an error, tell us. We correct factual errors on the page, and we would rather hear about it from you than leave it up.
If you are a clinician and something here is wrong or out of date, we particularly want to hear from you.
Reach us through the contact page for this edition.
Reviewed by
- Nakul Phatak — CEO, theAsianparent India & IndonesiaHead of theAsianparent India; father of one
- Roshni Chugani — Head of Marketing, theAsianparent India & Singapore12 years in the mother-and-baby space; mother of two
Published by: theAsianparent editorial team