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Child Is Not Feeding And Has Not Gained Weight. How To Feed A Child To Avoid Malnourishment?
Hello Dr,
My child is 31/2 month old and i have started working from his 3rd month... he is not feeding enough and hasnt gained enough weight from his last doctors visit. I leave to work at 6.30a and get back 4.30p by then he has just consumed 150ml breast milk and 100ml formula and nce I go in the evening he takes like 3 feeds and sleeps through the niight untill 5am , at 5am he has a small feed for 2mins. Is there a problem, I dont want him to be malnourished, please advice.
My child is 31/2 month old and i have started working from his 3rd month... he is not feeding enough and hasnt gained enough weight from his last doctors visit. I leave to work at 6.30a and get back 4.30p by then he has just consumed 150ml breast milk and 100ml formula and nce I go in the evening he takes like 3 feeds and sleeps through the niight untill 5am , at 5am he has a small feed for 2mins. Is there a problem, I dont want him to be malnourished, please advice.
Thu, 11 Jul 2013
Hi
It would have been better if you have mentioned the birth weight, the present weight and the weight gain from his last visit.
Usually babies of this age take around 150 to 180 ml per feed and about 8 to 10 feeds in a day. If feeding is okay, they will have a minimum urination of 6 to 8 times in a day and they will pass soft stools.
So if your baby is not gaining weight adequately or has less frequent urine or passes hard stools, then it means his feeding is not enough.
Since you are away from your baby for almost 10 hrs, please check if he feeds atleast thrice in those 10 hrs. Check the quantity of each feeds. Check if he is burped properly after each feed. Check how long he sleeps after each feeds.
If his excessive sleep is the issue, you should try to wake him up every 3 to 4 hrs and feed him especially during the day time.
When feeding him directly from breast, a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes per feed is better. And try to empty one breast fully before switching on to the next as the milk that comes at the end (Hind milk) is rich in fat and helps in baby`s weight gain.
Also be sure that you take a proper balanced diet with plenty of fluids, fresh fruits and vegetables.
If weight gain continues to be a problem, once he completes 4 months, you might ask your Pediatrician for introduction of semisolids.
And a multivitamin supplement daily will help.
Hope my answer helps.
Best Wishes
Dr. Sudha Shree.V
It would have been better if you have mentioned the birth weight, the present weight and the weight gain from his last visit.
Usually babies of this age take around 150 to 180 ml per feed and about 8 to 10 feeds in a day. If feeding is okay, they will have a minimum urination of 6 to 8 times in a day and they will pass soft stools.
So if your baby is not gaining weight adequately or has less frequent urine or passes hard stools, then it means his feeding is not enough.
Since you are away from your baby for almost 10 hrs, please check if he feeds atleast thrice in those 10 hrs. Check the quantity of each feeds. Check if he is burped properly after each feed. Check how long he sleeps after each feeds.
If his excessive sleep is the issue, you should try to wake him up every 3 to 4 hrs and feed him especially during the day time.
When feeding him directly from breast, a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes per feed is better. And try to empty one breast fully before switching on to the next as the milk that comes at the end (Hind milk) is rich in fat and helps in baby`s weight gain.
Also be sure that you take a proper balanced diet with plenty of fluids, fresh fruits and vegetables.
If weight gain continues to be a problem, once he completes 4 months, you might ask your Pediatrician for introduction of semisolids.
And a multivitamin supplement daily will help.
Hope my answer helps.
Best Wishes
Dr. Sudha Shree.V
I find this answer helpful
3 Doctors agree with this answer
Hi,
I hope you are aware of the concepts of : '6 months exclusive breastfeeding - on demand'. Which means that the infant must be fed ONLY breastmilk and nothing else in his/her 1st 6 months of life, and the frequency of this feed must be - whenever he/she asks for it.
So, you seem to have deviated from this.
A solution to fulfil this, in case of working mothers is the EBM (Expressed breast milk). You can express milk into a container and store it in the refrigerator. This can be fed whenever the child asks.
Wishing you and your child good health.
I hope you are aware of the concepts of : '6 months exclusive breastfeeding - on demand'. Which means that the infant must be fed ONLY breastmilk and nothing else in his/her 1st 6 months of life, and the frequency of this feed must be - whenever he/she asks for it.
So, you seem to have deviated from this.
A solution to fulfil this, in case of working mothers is the EBM (Expressed breast milk). You can express milk into a container and store it in the refrigerator. This can be fed whenever the child asks.
Wishing you and your child good health.
I find this answer helpful
2 Doctors agree with this answer
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