A complete, practical guide for parents of children from birth to 6 years — covering everything from India's recommended vaccination schedule to understanding growth percentiles and building a health record your doctor will thank you for.
Log vaccinations, track growth, store prescriptions — and get reminder emails before every upcoming dose.
Start FreeThe first five years of a child's life involve more doctor visits, vaccinations, growth checks, and health decisions than almost any other period. Yet most Indian parents manage this with a mix of a physical vaccination card, scattered prescriptions, and memory — none of which is reliable at 2am when your baby has a fever and you need to know when the last dose was given.
This guide covers the IAP-recommended vaccination schedule, how to read a growth chart, what to track after every paediatric visit, and how to build a complete health record for your child from day one.
The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) publishes a recommended immunisation schedule that goes beyond the Government of India's Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). The IAP schedule includes additional vaccines — such as rotavirus, PCV (pneumococcal), and varicella — that offer broader protection and are widely recommended by paediatricians across India.
| Age | Vaccines due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| At Birth | BCG OPV-0 (Oral Polio) Hepatitis B — 1st dose | Given within 24 hours of birth |
| 6 Weeks | DTwP/DTaP — 1st dose IPV — 1st dose Hib — 1st dose Hepatitis B — 2nd dose Rotavirus — 1st dose PCV — 1st dose | |
| 10 Weeks | DTwP/DTaP — 2nd dose IPV — 2nd dose Hib — 2nd dose Rotavirus — 2nd dose PCV — 2nd dose | |
| 14 Weeks | DTwP/DTaP — 3rd dose IPV — 3rd dose Hib — 3rd dose Rotavirus — 3rd dose PCV — 3rd dose | |
| 6 Months | Hepatitis B — 3rd dose OPV — 1st dose Influenza — 1st dose (annual thereafter) | |
| 9 Months | MMR — 1st dose OPV — 2nd dose Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) — 1st dose | |
| 12 Months | Hepatitis A — 1st dose Varicella (Chickenpox) — 1st dose | |
| 15 Months | MMR — 2nd dose Varicella — 2nd dose PCV Booster | |
| 18 Months | DTwP/DTaP Booster IPV Booster Hib Booster Hepatitis A — 2nd dose | |
| 2 Years | TCV Booster Hepatitis A — 2nd dose (if not given at 18m) | |
| 4–6 Years | DTwP/DTaP Booster — 2nd OPV Booster Varicella (if not given earlier) | Before school entry |
| 10–12 Years | Tdap / Td Booster HPV — 2 doses (especially for girls) | Consult paediatrician |
Log each vaccine in HealthAYF and set the next due date. You'll receive automatic email reminders 7 days before, 1 day before, and an overdue alert if a dose is missed. Your complete vaccination record is always downloadable as a PDF — essential for school admissions, travel, and emergency visits.
Every paediatrician visit includes a growth check — height, weight, and head circumference (for infants). These measurements are plotted on a growth chart that shows where your child falls compared to other children of the same age and gender, expressed as a percentile.
HealthAYF plots each measurement over time so you can see the trend at a glance — and share it with your paediatrician without relying on a paper booklet that is one laundry cycle away from illegibility.
The most common regret parents have is not starting sooner. A health record that begins at birth is infinitely more valuable than one started at age 3, because early measurements and vaccination dates are nearly impossible to reconstruct.
What to document after every paediatric visit:
School admissions in India increasingly require a complete vaccination record. Travel visas for many countries require proof of certain vaccinations. A new paediatrician in a new city needs your child's complete history to give safe advice. A documented allergy or adverse reaction to a vaccine must be on record before the next dose.
These are not hypothetical scenarios. They happen to every family at some point.
One of the most anxiety-inducing parts of parenting is knowing when to go to the doctor and when to wait and watch. These are general guidelines — always trust your instincts as a parent, and when in doubt, call your paediatrician.
A well-prepared parent gets more out of a 15-minute paediatric appointment than one arriving with scattered notes and missing documents. Here is what to bring every time:
HealthAYF is built specifically for families managing health records across multiple family members — from newborns to grandparents. For your child, here is what you get:
Free to start. No credit card. Add your child, log their first vaccination, and set a reminder for the next dose — in under 3 minutes.
Get Started FreeAlso read our Elder Care Guide — managing your parents' BP, diabetes, and chronic conditions at home.
Questions? support@healthayf.com · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service