Children's health is a crucial moment in the life of every parent. The weight of the newborn plays a huge role. In the first years of life, the baby must eat well (however, as in the rest of the time, older children are just not treated as carefully) in order to develop fully. There are even generally accepted standards for weight gain. What if the child does not meet them? Or more precisely, if he weighs less and gains practically nothing? What could be the reasons for this phenomenon? Should I panic if my baby isn't gaining weight?

Feeding mode

Children can have many problems with gaining kilograms. Therefore, it is important to determine the cause of deviations from the norm. In infants, the most common cause is a violation of the feeding regime.

The thing is that mothers themselves choose how and when to feed their children. Some do this on demand, others according to a specific schedule. Often in the second case, children simply remain hungry. And therefore it turns out that the child does not gain weight. That is, he absorbs little food.

This reason is not too dangerous. It's easy to fix. It is recommended to switch to demand feeding mode. This way the child will eat as much as he needs for growth and development. In the case of infants, this phenomenon may not be very convenient for the mother, especially at night. But for children, feeding on demand is most suitable.

Lack of milk

Is your baby a month old? Having trouble gaining weight? The problem may lie in a lack of milk. As you might guess, it is observed only in those children who are exclusively breastfed.

Lack of milk is especially common in first-time mothers. There can be many reasons for this problem - stress, long adaptation of the body, and so on. But the fact remains: the baby does not have enough milk.

In this case, we can recommend several techniques. It all depends on whether the mother wants to continue breastfeeding the baby or not. If the baby is not gaining weight due to a lack of milk, you just need to put him to the breast more often or stimulate the breast with a breast pump. Usually, problems with milk production are observed in the first month after childbirth.

The second option to solve the problem is to switch to artificial feeding. This way you can feed your baby and know for sure that he has enough food for proper development. But this is far from the best solution. Some claim that there is nothing more beneficial for a baby than breast milk.

Intestinal diseases

Why isn't my baby gaining weight? The cause of this phenomenon may be intestinal diseases. Usually this problem occurs in children who are on mixed or artificial feeding. But in breastfed babies, usually only colic occurs. But they do not affect weight gain in any way, only the general condition of the baby.

What to do in this case? First, find out what intestinal disease occurred in the child. And then cure him. If the cause is artificial mixture, it must be changed. It is advisable to select the next food for the baby with the pediatrician who is observing the newborn. He will definitely help you decide.

Usually, it is worth sounding the alarm and raising suspicions about the presence of intestinal diseases when the child is not gaining weight. But at the same time he must also lose it. This is the symptom that accompanies intestinal diseases in children. Therefore, there is no need to immediately panic. It's not a fact that everything is as serious as it seems.

Reasons for low weight gain. How to deal with this problem?

The most important thing that parents need to do before taking any action aimed at combating poor weight gain in an infant is to find out the real cause of this problem. Plus, you need to calm down and not be nervous in advance, especially for a nursing mother. Among the possible reasons leading to low monthly weight gain, the 2 most common ones should be highlighted:

• insufficient amount of breast milk that the baby receives during breastfeeding;
• indigestibility of the selected milk formula in children on IV.

The mixture selected for the baby may be poorly absorbed by his body

Baby doesn't eat enough

A lack of mother's milk can be due to a number of factors:

1. incorrect attachment to the breast;
2. feeding according to the schedule, and not at the request of the baby;
3. refusal of night feedings;
4. mother's milk deficiency.

Sometimes it is difficult for an inexperienced mother who is breastfeeding to determine whether she has enough milk and whether the baby is getting enough of it. Signs that the baby is full and completely satisfied are that he quickly falls asleep after feeding and has a sound, restful sleep for 2.5-3 hours. The opposite situation, when after breastfeeding the baby cannot fall asleep for a long time and wakes up earlier than expected, and the sleep itself is quite restless, indicates that the milk eaten by the baby was not enough.

Strict adherence to the recommendations of doctors and breastfeeding specialists will help eliminate the problem. First, the baby should be taken to the breast. Secondly, feedings should not be on a schedule, but when the hungry little one demands it. If the reason lies in insufficient milk, the mother should do everything to improve lactation. If the baby continues to be malnourished, it is advisable to contact a pediatrician who will select baby food appropriate for the child’s age.

A consultant will help solve problems that arise for the mother and improve breastfeeding.

Digestibility of baby food

When feeding a formula-fed baby, it is very easy to control the amount of formula he eats. You should contact a specialist if the baby receives the required amount of formula every day, but the weight gain does not meet the norms.

Most likely, baby food contains components that the baby’s body is not able to absorb. This usually refers to cow's milk protein. The solution is for the doctor to select a different mixture that is suitable for the baby.

Heredity

Is your baby not gaining weight well? To be honest, this is not always a reason to panic. In some cases, a deviation from the norm can be considered normal. Yes, modern doctors immediately talk about the baby’s health problems, but in reality this is not the case.

Genetics and heredity also played a role in the formation of the newborn’s body. Thus, underweight can be inherited. That is, if the parents do not have a predisposition to be overweight, moreover, when mom and dad were also underweight, then the child may also encounter this problem.

Usually this situation does not require any additional action. It is unlikely to be adjusted. It is enough to explain to the pediatrician that the deficiency is inherited. Otherwise, you will be intimidated with disappointing diagnoses, and your child will be treated for everything that can cause our current problem.

4 year old child is not gaining weight

Parents are always worried that their baby is gaining weight rather slowly. In this case, the child has a thin, frail, unhealthy appearance, which differs from the appearance of other children at the same age. Pediatricians rely on specific standards for body weight, height and age, depending on the stage of the baby’s life. If the weight deviates greatly from the norm, then the child is prescribed the necessary treatment. It is much easier to gain weight in newborns than in older children. The longer you wait to see a doctor, the more health problems your baby may develop. Children's scales

FIRST SIGNS OF UNDERWEIGHT IN NEWBORNS

How can you tell if your child is not gaining weight well? Perhaps the parents are simply too suspicious, and therefore it seems to them that the baby’s weight is stagnant. You should consult a doctor if there are the following deviations from normal indicators:

• During the first 4 months of life, infants usually gain approximately 500-900 grams of weight per month.
• In six months, weight increases from 350 to 600 grams.
• From 6 to 9 months, the baby's weight grows from 300 to 500 grams every month.
• From 9 months to a year - from 100 to 350 grams monthly.

You should also contact your pediatrician if your child has:

• There are no fat folds on the body.
• The baby's skin is too dry and rough.
• The skin lacks elasticity.
• The baby has a pale, unhealthy appearance.

Problems can also be identified by physical activity. If you notice the following factors, consult your doctor:

• almost constant crying;
• minimum activity;
• interruptions in sleep;
• appetite disorders.

The symptoms described above indicate that the child actually has some diseases that affect weight loss. This is especially dangerous if you don’t have any thin or petite people in your family.

Important:
do not panic if your baby is slightly behind his peers in weight. When a child has a good appetite and is characterized by active behavior, it is premature to talk about any problems. Weight gain is an individual indicator and is associated with the baby’s constitution.

REASONS FOR UNDER WEIGHT GAIN IN A BABY

The first thing to do is to understand why the baby stopped gaining weight. The reasons may be different, and we will look at them further.

Lack of milk.

Often, a baby cannot gain weight because he does not have enough breast milk. This can happen if:

• The mother has little milk and there are interruptions in lactation.
• The child does not have a stable sucking reflex. In this case, it is necessary to teach the baby to eat.
• Bad posture. There is no need to experiment with positions in which you can feed your baby. It is better to use standard poses, tested by many mothers.
• Diseases associated with the oral cavity. Because of them, the baby may not eat well. This is usually easily identified and corrected by a pediatrician.
• Poorly shaped nipple. It’s hard for the baby to grab it with his lips. This will be visible already in the first month of a newborn’s life.

Lack of mother's milk is a popular reason why a baby is not gaining weight well. To understand this, you need to study how often the child eats and how much. It is better to summarize all the results in a single table, and then show it to the pediatrician.

Worms

In some cases, you still have to take tests to find out the true cause of the baby’s underweight. Is your child not gaining weight? Maybe he has worms! This phenomenon is usually observed in older children. In newborns this phenomenon is practically excluded.

In order for weight gain to return to normal, it will be necessary to get rid of parasites in the body. Only after treatment the child will begin to eat normally and gain weight. Therefore, it is necessary first of all to exclude worms from a number of reasons for the baby’s underweight. But don’t panic - everything can be treated, the child will be able to quickly recover after a set of procedures.

How can a small child gain weight quickly?

If the baby is often in a stressful environment, scandals, this can also affect appetite. The child may simply not eat, refuse food, the mother may lose milk due to nervousness or become "". Therefore, parents should avoid stress and be less nervous, as this will certainly be passed on to the child, and the consequences can be very diverse (including an unbalanced nervous system throughout life).

Lack of appetite may indicate reduced immunity, which needs to be raised to normal. This can be done with the help of special vitamins, food, walks in the fresh air, hardening and more.

It is necessary to create all the conditions for the baby to grow up healthy, developed, and sociable. Monitoring his health, nutrition, and culture of development is the most basic and important thing that can be done for a child’s full life. At a minimum, care and affection will create a good mood for the baby, which will help prevent a number of certain problems and diseases.

If there were such a mechanism that would allow one to penetrate into the thoughts of a newborn baby, then how easy it would be for all mothers in the world! They would know exactly all the reasons for the baby’s dissatisfaction and whims. But along with deciphering the messages about needs, you and I would probably hear the phrase “These moms have it wrong!”

Indeed, no matter how the baby develops, mothers are always worried: “he still doesn’t talk,” “the baby isn’t gaining weight,” “he has strange stools,” and many similar fears.

And the first thing all parents should remember is that their child is individual! And if he is in a good mood, active reactions, clear skin and sound sleep, this already indicates a healthy state of the baby!

And yet, if the baby is not gaining weight, you need to weigh a number of additional indicators of adequate development and, most often, reassure yourself that everything is fine with your baby.

From this article you will learn:

Weight gain norms

In what situations should you raise the alarm? How much weight should a child gain? Now you can find a variety of tables with standards for girls and boys. There are even special calculators - they will show how much your baby should gain per month and ultimately weigh. The main advantage of such utilities is that they take into account the baby’s growth and initial data.

However, there are certain norms for weight gain. The main breakthrough should be observed in the first months of the baby’s life. So, in 30 days over the course of six months, a child gains 800-900 grams, and then up to a year - 400. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Small errors are acceptable. But severe deviations usually cause panic and fears for parents.

Lure

Now it is clear exactly how much weight a child should gain by month. But there is still one more reason why problems may arise with this. If the baby was gaining weight well, and then suddenly there was a shortage, starting from 4 months, pay attention to complementary feeding. It may be entered incorrectly. Because of this, food is less digestible. And, as a result, weight problems appear.

To exclude this phenomenon, first put the baby to the breast for a short time (milk improves food absorption), then give complementary foods in small quantities. This is how you can eliminate digestive disorders.

In general, if your baby does not have any intestinal problems, he gets enough milk, but still suffers from underweight, do not panic. It has already been said that this phenomenon can be inherited. Therefore, there is no need to always sound the alarm if the child is not gaining weight.

Causes of underweight in children under one year of age

Genetics

If the child is not gaining weight, but is active and happy, then parents should once again go to the mirror and look at themselves. If the reflection did not tell them that they themselves are far from high body weight, then they have a second try - old albums with their childhood photographs. Not every skinny parent can grow a fat toddler!

Our children are a copy of us, so don’t rush to look at the fat guy next door, as he has completely different design features and genetic predisposition!

Problems with feeding

The first reason for the violation of active weight gain is considered to be an imbalance in nutrition. But this is more appropriate in the case of adult individuals. But for kids it’s different! The lack of nutritional value of milk is initially indicated not by weight, but by other indicators: lethargy, drowsiness, bad mood and dry skin.

Experiment to test whether newborns are getting enough breast milk

Give up diapers for one day and count how many times you change diapers. Normally, in the first months of life, a baby should urinate 12 to 14 times per day. If you have the same number of diapers changed, then everything is fine with feeding, and the baby gets plenty of milk!

During complementary feeding, mothers often choose the wrong tactics. By giving unreasonably large portions of mashed potatoes or porridge, they only achieve disruption of digestion. The entire portion is not broken down, which means that the beneficial substances from it do not reach the desired goals. As a result, the baby filled his stomach, but received less benefit than if he had been supplemented with milk or formula.

After six months, you should enrich your baby’s diet with a variety of food groups. Some mothers believe that the baby should only be given different cereals or a different type of meat every day. But the essence of energy enrichment is different. Only correct and rational alternation of meat, vegetable, fruit, dairy and cereal products will bring active energy metabolism to the baby’s body.

Digestive system dysfunction

In this case, in addition to the fact that the baby does not gain weight, he may additionally experience allergic reactions and intestinal disorders or, conversely, constipation. In this case, the child should be shown to the appropriate specialist (often this is done by a geneticist), who will determine the enzymatic ability of the baby’s body, conduct tests on digestibility and the functioning of the liver and pancreas.

If such ailments are detected and treated in a timely manner, restoring the child’s health will not be difficult. The main thing is patience and strict adherence to the doctor’s recommendations.

Metabolic disease

This is already a serious diagnosis that requires careful research and treatment. To diagnose the disorder, doctors conduct a number of studies, including the baby’s blood. In this case, following all the doctor’s recommendations allows you to completely establish the metabolism in the child’s body and normalize his weight.

Frequent illnesses

During illnesses, the baby’s body directs all its resources to fight the disease. Therefore, there is no time left for fats to be deposited. In this case, the mother’s task is not to fight for weight, but to actively interact with the baby to achieve the highest results in strengthening his immunity. Feeding should be based on enriching the body with vitamins, minerals, increasing hemoglobin and improving energy metabolism in the body.

You shouldn’t rush for semolina porridge according to your grandmother’s advice, which turns all the kids into fat people. It is better to purchase “weight loss” buckwheat, which contains significantly more valuable microelements.

And here is the opinion of everyone’s favorite doctor Komarovsky on the sore subject of all grandmothers and mothers:

“Why isn’t my baby gaining weight like he should?”:

“Your child doesn’t owe anything to anyone, especially to all those academicians who come up with these exact standards! And believe me, it’s more beneficial for your child’s health to be under 2 kilograms than to overdo 200 grams!”