Baby growth is a matter of attention among virtually all mothers. During visits to the pediatrician, many even ask: "did my son put on weight everything he had to put on weight?" ÜMy baby does not get fat. Is my milk weak?
As a result of this concern, some people sometimes even make bad decisions out of sheer anxiety. Many mothers may think, for example, that their baby is not gaining weight because their milk is not being good enough for them. However, this is a myth, there is no weak breast milk. Remember that each mother produces the milk your baby needs and in the right amount. The fact is that a woman's body only needs to regulate the amount of milk in the first days after delivery.
Other families even believe that milk powder may be the solution when the baby does not gain weight. However, in fact, there is a lot to be taken into consideration and only a pediatrician can give the correct guidelines according to each case.
"There are no specific and extensive statistics about babies who do not gain weight, but this complaint is not uncommon in the pediatrician's daily life," says Camila Richieri Gomes, endocrinopediatrician at the Dr. Family Clinic.
On the other hand, Tatiana Miranda, a pediatrician at Hospital Leforte, points out that the socioeconomic transition, added to the development of the health system and the improvement of sanitation conditions that Brazil currently lives, has been favoring the reduction of the weight gain deficit (difficulty in gain weight). In addition to this new epidemiological feature, the country is also experiencing the so-called nutritional transition, which is characterized by the presence in the same territory of malnutrition of micronutrient deficiency and overweight. Since today we have a lot of concern about the other pole of this problem, which is obesity, even in babies ?, he says.
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In children, these two transitions, epidemiological and nutritional, can be noted when there is a growing increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity throughout the country, to the detriment of cases of malnutrition (underweight). The prevalence of obese children in Brazil is currently 6.6% ?, adds Tatiana.
How to find out if your baby is underweight
It is not enough simply to look at the baby and think that he is 'very skinny', much less compare his development with that of other children.
Tatiana explains that the pediatrician will evaluate the child's weight and height. "There are so-called normal weight percentile curves for each age, appropriate for the Brazilian population, and divided by gender as well," he says.
That is, there are reference tables and graphs for weight, height and body mass index of children, according to age and gender. And is it they who will say? if your baby is in fact not gaining weight.
The most commonly used and recommended charts by the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics are the World Health Organization charts, according to pediatrician Camila. Check out the links below:
Read also: Breastfeeding: Ask questions and check out tips and reports from mothers
- For girls 0-5 years
- For boys 0-5 years
Why does the baby not gain weight?
Tatiana explains that the main causes of malnutrition stem from four elementary conditions:
1. Insufficient caloric intake. The child is eating less calories than his body needs.
2. Inadequate absorption. "The child eats what he needs, but for various causes, diseases that we call malabsorption syndrome, your body does not properly absorb everything that is ingested," explains the pediatrician.
3. Increased metabolic demand. Is the child in any condition where his body needs more calories than normal? Chronic diseases, recurrent infections, are conditions in which this can occur ?, says Tatiana.
4. Misuse of nutrients. Unbalanced diet, poor quality or poorly prepared food.
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Camila points out that, in general, the child does not gain weight properly because it does not eat enough or is not absorbing enough. ? Of all these causes, the most common is inadequate intake ,? comments.
What parents should do when their baby does not gain weight
1. Do not make comparisons. It is important to emphasize that parents should not compare their child with other children in the community, for example, to say that their baby is very skinny "because the son of a friend is the same age and much fatter". There are reference charts for weight, height and body mass index of children, according to age and gender, so they will? Say? if your baby is in fact not at the recommended weight.
2. Do not blame yourself. The mother should never think it's blame? her the fact that the baby is not gaining weight. The idea is my milk not being good enough for my son? It is wrong.
3. Take no action on your own. There is no point in forcing your child to breastfeed / eat when he does not want to, nor trying to insert foods that you think will help him gain weight (if he is already on complementary feeding). Only the doctor can make the appropriate recommendations.
4. Always take to the pediatrician. • Regular and periodic follow-up should be done with the pediatrician, who is able to detect early any problems that are happening with the baby. That's what childcare consultations are for, that is, the consultations where the baby and the child go to the pediatrician without any specific complaint, to accompany their development ?, says Camila.
Tatiana reinforces that the pediatrician is the professional who will evaluate if there is really a weight gain deficit, "and what will look for and clarify the cause or the multiple causes of why the baby does not gain weight", he concludes.
My Baby Isn't Gaining Weight - Is Something Wrong? (April 2024)
- Babies
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