Early diet critical for babies
Categories: Newborns, Babies, Pregnancy & Birth, Safety, Media
Nolan weighed nine pounds, fourteen ounces when he was born. By any measure, that's a big baby.But when I brought him in for his one-month checkup, and he'd lost a little weight, I must admit I felt a little stab of panic. He was still big and robust and quite obviously healthy, but as a new Mom I still stressed: were my breasts malfunctioning? Was I breastfeeding improperly? Should I be offering him meals more often?
I wish I'd seen this report from the BBC.
According to a new study, babies who do not eat much in their first few weeks of life may be set up for better heart health throughout their lives. The study suggests that a small weight loss in the first weeks of life is actually healthy for a baby, and
warned parents against "overfeeding" newborn babies by giving them large amounts of formula feed (a breastfeeding mother actually produces very little milk in the first few days of her baby's life)
The fact that formula-fed babies are sometimes overfed may also be the reason that breastfed babies are less likely to develop Type II diabetes later on in life.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brenda 8-03-2006 @ 11:05AM
Someone want to explain this to hospitals who, while admitting that they don't really know what the blood sugar levels of normal newborns are, measure blood sugar and start forcing glucose IVs into babies as fast as they can? Which leads to formula feeding because they are convinced babies can't take a little blood sugar fluctuation and there is no way mom can keep up with they amount of calories needed to replace the IV?
Also, why is it ok for babies to loose 10% of their body weight (nevermind the arbitrariness of that number) but it is expected that a 5 lbs baby who loses 8 oz and a 9 lbs baby who looses 14.4 oz supposed to regain weight in the same amount of time?
(excuse my math if it is wrong, I live in a metric country, should be 10% of the starting weight)
Brenda
http://preoptimism.blogdrive.com/
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Spring 8-03-2006 @ 11:29AM
I think the article is talking about the first few days, not the first few weeks.
"A study carried out at the Institute of Child Health in London found that babies who received a "low nutrient" diet rather than a "nutrient rich" diet in their first days were healthier as adolescents."
It is normal for breastfed infants to lose a bit of weight at first, but I think weightloss over the first few *weeks* would be a concern?
Kellymom (a very informative breastfeeding site) says: "Normal newborns may lose up to 7% of birth weight in the first few days. After mom's milk comes in, the average breastfed baby gains 6 oz/week (170 g/week). Take baby for a weight check at the end of the first week or beginning of the second week. Consult with baby's doctor and your lactation consultant if baby is not gaining as expected."
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Angie 8-03-2006 @ 11:58AM
This is good news for me. My last baby was 9 pounds at birth, and ended up hoverin around 11 pounds for quite some time after his initial weight loss. He was a very skinny baby for about 6 months; then he plumped out a little. My husband assured me all the time that he was healthy, but my mother and other people worried me no end about his skinniness. I'm not going to worry about skinniness in the baby(s) I'm expecting now.
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thordora 8-03-2006 @ 12:31PM
I agree with Brenda. My hospital was trying to insert a cathater within 6 hours of birth or so, because she hadn't peed. I'm sitting there trying to explain colostrum, and wondering why the doctors don't seem to know what they're doing.
No wonder breastfeeding didn't work.
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Brenda 8-03-2006 @ 2:46PM
Ok, this is a PSA just in case this happens to anyone else. I want you to be aware that:
Babies OFTEN DO NOT PEE the first 24 hours. It is not considered to be of concern until after 48 by some, but not all caregivers.
Please, please, please try to remember this, try to spread the message. Trust me. When you are confronted with the: "Your babies kidney's are not working we are going to give him drug x and a catheter and give it x amount of time then we will have to discuss other measures. Also we are going to have to ultrasound his brain and every other organ looking for damage" You will be glad you know this. Spread the word.
Another biggie (aside from the fact that they don't know anything about blood sugar levels in a normal baby).
Cord gasses. Do not consent to it, ok. Here is why. The levels could be low (it's a pH thing less than 7 is supposed to be really, really bad). However it is a CUMULATIVE thing. It could be your baby was severely deprived of oxygen during labour. It could also be that you slept on your back an hour a night for the last trimester. It also sometimes happen if you are in a car accident earlier in your pregnancy (I think 2nd trimester, not sure about first)
No matter how empowered you are, make sure you have someone else there who thinks as you do. I didn't keep my husband as much in the loop as I should have. He didn't know what to do when they took the baby away. I regret it, though he probably wasn't thinking much more clearly than I was. Try to have strong knowledgeable people around you if you have to go to the hospital.
Brenda
http://preoptimism.blogdrive.com/
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ang 8-03-2006 @ 4:38PM
i breastfeed and my baby regained her weight within a week. (my milk came in fast) she peed and pooed within the first 12 hours. does that mean i overfed her? i hate these reports. they make moms who do a good job caring for their children wonder if things could've been better.
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mamaloo 8-03-2006 @ 4:59PM
I've tried to get Blogging Baby to do a story about the size of newborn stomachs and how much food they require, but nobody bothered.
I think it's hugely important to realise that a newborn has a stomach capacity of a chickpea. So, if the hospital tries to tell you that you need to force feed your newborn with 2-6 oz of formula for any reason (they suspect the baby's blood sugar is low, they are concerned about your milk, they want the baby to metabolize bilirubin faster...) they are trying to force you to grotesquely overfeed your child.
By Day 3, your baby's stomach will expand to the size of a cherry.
A week later, your baby's stomach will be the size of a walnut.
There is an amazing chart that shows the size of the baby's stomach, the amount in teaspoons that will fill that size and how many wet/soiled diapers to expect as output and covers the first few months of the baby's life. I've Googled my butt off, but I can't find it anywhere. It is in the tip I sent Blogging Baby, however.
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Brenda 8-03-2006 @ 5:56PM
I know that poster well, it was up all over the place in the hospital. But nurses/doctors can't read.
Brenda
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thordora 8-04-2006 @ 9:19AM
Where were you guys when I was in the hospital!
If someone knows where to get that chart mamaloo is talking about, I'd LOVE to donate some to the Maternity ward in the hospital I gave birth in.
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Brenda 8-04-2006 @ 10:42AM
I'd love for the women of the world to rise up and demand evidence-based medicine in relation to reproduction, just like we have with most other things.
But it is a big dream, so until then I just try to enlighten one woman at a time, with some facts, and hopefully give her the desire to do her own research. Empower one woman at a time, so that if it comes down to a choice between her instinct and a doctor she at least gives her inner voice equal weight.
They say when you know better, you do better. Well that may not be true. I let the hospital bully me, a lot. But I did take a stand about some things and I managed to avoid all the prenatal sCare.
Normally I put my own website at the bottom of my posts, but this time I will link to some others who are doing good work.
http://www.empoweredchildbirth.com/about.html
http://midwiferytoday.com/
www.unassistedchildbirth.com/
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