My child is unable to sit or crawl

Q: My child is 10 months old. He is unable to sit or crawl. The doctor says that it is due to muscle weakness and has prescribed a medicine MACALVIT. The child also takes ZINCOVIT, multivitamin drops and LIV-52 and as per the doctor's prescription he is otherwise normal. The child is also given oil massage during bath.The mother of the child had a problem during delivery. The expected delivery date was 28-08-2001 and the child was born on 03-09-2001.In between, as per the doctor, the child got disconnected from the placenta in the mother's womb. At the time of birth, the child weighed 2.5 Kg. My question is, whether the problem of the child, as cited above, is a serious one which will lead to any permanent disability or is there is a cure for it. Kindly suggest if any precautions are to be taken in the form of medicines, food, treatment or exercise.

A:There is some delay in the motor development of your child when compared to children of same age. If your pediatrician feels that it is due to muscle weakness, it needs further evaluation and follow up. Supplementation of calcium at an early age is not a routine practice by most pediatricians unless there was suspicion of calcium deficiency or related vitamin D or parathyroid hormone abnormalities in the child. This point needs further discussion with your treating physician as the details provided are insufficient to recommend continued use. The delayed development is probably related to some problems that the child had in utero or immediately after birth. A specialist in child developmental physiology or a pediatric neurologist should evaluate your son for any possible other abnormalities to pinpoint the cause and suggest any treatment. There is no harm in continuing with massage. Make sure that the child is receiving only one type of mutivitamin drops though there is no proven benefit.