Safe and clean drinking water a priority for young mothers

Are you a young mother busy taking care of your toddler? While this is a wonderful period in your life, this can also be the time you forget to take care of yourself. So, here’s a gentle reminder to drink a glass of clean water. When it lifestyle changes, staying hydrated should be on top of the list. While it is important to stay hydrated, it is even more important to drink clean and safe water because your drinking water quality can impact your health. The majority of the population in India does not have access to safe drinking water. 

What is safe drinking water?

There are several parameters that help determine the safety of drinking water. This includes the clarity (turbidity), amount of dissolved solids (TDS), chlorine, and other elements. The amount of mineral content in the drinking water is also an indicator of quality. It is important that your drinking water contains all these elements within safe and permissible limits. Then you can be sure of its quality.

For instance, the TDS level of your drinking water should range between 50 to 150 parts per million (PPM). Whereas, the turbidity level should be less than 1 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units). Your water should also contain sufficient minerals because your body absorbs a certain amount of essential minerals from your drinking water.

Why is it important to access clean and safe drinking water?

While is is important for everyone to drink clean and safe drinking water, it is even more necessary when you are a young mother. If you have easy access to safe drinking water, you will consume a sufficient amount of water every day ensuring that you stay hydrated. This is more important if you are breastfeeding your baby. By consuming enough water, you gain the fluids that you lose while lactating.

With good quality drinking water, you can also avoid a number of water-borne diseases, the most common being:

→ Diarrhoea
→ Typhoid
→ Escherichia (E.Coli)
→ Hepatitis A, and,
→ Salmonella

Moreover, if you have good quality drinking water access at home, you don’t have to keep boiling the water you give your baby. This can be a real-time-saver!

How can you get safe drinking water at home?

People say that a lot of things change when there is a newborn in the house. You will try to ensure that your home is baby-friendly. While you make sure your toddler has everything required, don’t forget to take care of the most basic necessity - easy access to safe drinking water.

If you have been depending on 20-litre plastic water cans for your drinking water, this is probably the right time for you to reconsider it. This is because 85% of the water in circulation in water cans is not safe for consumption. 

Now that you know this, you may think that boiling the water is a solution to the problem. You will have to spend so much time boiling the required amount of water every day! It is advisable to get a water purifier. You not only save time but also get safe drinking water throughout the day. You and your family’s drinking water will be one less thing to worry about!

So, make sure you drink a sufficient amount of good quality water to stay hydrated. Here’s a tip: Instead of heading to the kitchen every time you feel thirsty, keep a water bottle handy. You can keep sipping water at regular intervals. And if you feel that you forget to drink water until you become thirsty, set reminders on your mobile phone. This will help you.

(This article is attributed to Mr Vijender Reddy Muthyala, Founder, and CEO, DrinkPrime)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of India TV)