Grandmothers and girlfriends of a nursing mother argue that a breastfed baby needs to be supplemented with water. Only modern women usually follow the recommendations of pediatricians, who do not advise giving additional drinks to children under six months. So does the baby need water or can it really harm? You will find the answers in this article.
For a newborn, mother's milk is not just food, but also the best drink. It not only contains all the nutrients necessary for the crumbs, but also consists of 87% water. Breast milk also has important properties necessary to maintain normal baby digestion, which is different from drinking water.
- Babies under 4 months old are allowed by pediatricians to supplement with water or supplement with a mixture strictly if there is a medical indication... It's just that you can't do this at will, otherwise there is a risk of harming the health of the baby;
- In the summer heat or during a period of illness with a high body temperature, the baby should be given breast more often. Children from 4 months to six months can already be offered water in a cup, but there is no need to force it to drink. For this age, a safe dose of water is considered no more than 60 ml per day.
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Breast milk - food and drink for the newborn
It is so provided by nature that the baby receives breast milk almost immediately after birth. At the same time, the mother's body after childbirth constantly adjusts to the needs of the baby.
Mother's milk changes its composition depending on the age of the baby, as well as in different situations. So, if the baby for some reason needs more fluid, he begins to attach to the breast more often and often requires to change it.
As a result, an infant who is thirsty receives more foremilk, which is 88% water. Only it differs from ordinary water in that this liquid does not wash out electrolytes from the body and maintains their optimal balance.
By the way, adults with dehydration are also recommended to drink not ordinary water, but a solution of glucose (grape sugar) and mineral salts necessary for the normal functioning of the body. Front milk has just such a composition: it contains lactose (milk sugar) and a whole set of mineral salts. Therefore, it not only eliminates fluid deficiency in the infant's body, but also replenishes essential electrolytes.
Even more front milk and more fatty back milk contain many vitamins, enzymes, bioactive substances that stimulate the digestion of a small child. When he receives water or tea in addition to breast milk, the concentrations of all nutrients are reduced. Therefore, in the stomach and intestines of the crumbs, protection against bacteria and the consequences of enzyme deficiency decreases.
Thus, a healthy baby when breastfeeding needs only mother's milk until the beginning of complementary feeding.
Can water heal?
Even doctors have not yet come to a consensus on whether it is worth adding water to children under 4-6 months old if they have a fever or have contracted an intestinal infection. One way or another, you can give the baby extra drink only as prescribed by the pediatrician.
It is necessary to strictly follow the doctor's recommendations on how much liquid to give to the baby, at what time and from what dishes. There is currently no conclusive evidence that drinking water given to infants for dehydration and fever, from a bottle or from a cup, is beneficial.
In severe cases, children are given droppers with special solutions. In other situations, when the baby cannot be attached to the breast, pediatricians recommend using expressed breast milk instead of water to fill the fluid deficit. You need to give it from a spoon or from a cup.
Even if a newborn is vomiting, you can give him breast milk - very small portions and often, so as not to provoke a reverse reflex. If the doctor decides that the baby needs water, he must indicate this in the prescription sheet and determine the dose that is safe for your child.
For babies under 4-5 weeks old, regular water is fraught with the development of additional complications.
- If you add water to a crumbs with physiological jaundice, this can slow down the excretion of bilirubin from his body, as a result of which the disease will only drag on. Bilirubin is excreted much faster when a sufficient volume of breast milk is consumed: it has a laxative effect, therefore bilirubin is released from the crumbs along with the stool. If the need arises, then, in addition to breastfeeding, an infant with jaundice can be additionally given expressed breast milk;
- A newborn who receives a lot of regular water fills the stomach and dulls the feeling of hunger, so it sucks less milk from the mother's breast. This is fraught with weight loss, because there are no calories in the water, and the baby does not get the required volume of breast milk;
- If the baby is drunk abundantly, there is a risk of intoxication, that is, water poisoning. This is accompanied by acute edema and leads to a life-threatening condition for the baby. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), healthy children who receive breast milk on demand should not be supplemented with plain water until the age of six months.
Water regime for babies
For a child over the age of 4 months, a safe dose of water is considered to be 30-60 ml per day, but only if the baby asks for it and drinks from a cup with the help of parents. If the baby refuses, you do not need to force him to drink - instead, it is better for mom to offer him breasts more often.
Most babies who are fed only breast milk are happy to drink them even complementary foods, refusing regular water. This is considered quite normal and not dangerous even for children over six months - of course, provided that they receive enough breast milk.
Even in extreme heat, babies who are breastfed on demand are reliably protected from dehydration. It is only very important that the mother drank enough water herself, did not overheat in the sun and did not cuddle the baby so that he did not sweat.
If the temperature outside the window rises above +25 degrees, the baby in the diaper and long sleeves overheats, which leads to excessive loss of fluid. In this case, do not give him water - to prevent dehydration, it is better to just undress the baby and offer him the breast.
Water becomes truly necessary for a child from the moment solid food appears in his diet. Breast milk or water should be offered after each feeding that included complementary foods. In most cases, children who were fed only with breast milk drink a more or less significant amount of water only 1-2 months after the start of complementary feeding.
Usually at the age of 8 months, babies are already happy to drink water. Just don't give too much of it, because at this age babies still need a lot of breast milk. From 1 year old, the baby already independently determines the volume of water that he needs to quench his thirst. You can offer it to your baby every time he has eaten solid food.
- How to drink a newborn: 8 healthy drinks
- Is it necessary (and is it possible) to give water to newborn babies with breastfeeding, formula feeding, mixed feeding? Water with hiccups
Do I need to add water to the baby?
Do I need to supplement the baby? Can a newborn be given water? Should the child be given water, “dill water”, decoctions, teas, juices, etc. to drink? At what age do you start to drink a baby?
Question to Dr. Komarovsky: Do breastfed babies need to be supplemented with water?
Dr. Komarovsky will explain why WHO does not recommend supplementing with water and in what cases the child should still be given water. The criterion for the need for supplementing will be the behavior of the baby: if there is no pathological loss of fluid, he will refuse water, preferring his mother's breast, but if he literally pounces on the bottle, it means that he vitally needs water - he suffers from overheating or is sick.
