The rates of weight gain in newborns by months in the table – how much does the child lose in weight in the first days after birth?

The birth of a baby, which mom and dad have been waiting for 9 long months, is always happiness for parents. True, anxiety quickly replaces joy – the baby begins to lose weight. Moreover, the baby begins to lose weight in the hospital, and then continues at home. Of course, this problem cannot but scare the mother.

Do I need to worry, and why does a healthy baby lose weight? Understanding.

The content of the article:

1. Weight norms for newborn boys and girls
2. Weight loss in newborns in the hospital in the early days
3. Newborn weight gain rates in the table
4. Deviations from the rate of increase – causes and risks

What determines the weight of the child at birth – the norms of the weight of newborn boys and girls

– How much, doctor? – the mother will ask the midwife, worrying whether the baby’s weight is normal.

Does it matter?

Of course it is important. The future health of the baby largely depends on the weight at birth. That is why doctors try to control these parameters during pregnancy.

The norm of weight for full-term babies born into the world is …

• 2800-3800 g – for newborn girls
• 3000-4000 g – for newborn boys

It is worth noting that these numbers are important in combination with growth parameters, and doctors in this case use the Quetelet index.

What determines the weight of a newborn?

First of all, the following factors affect the baby’s weight:

• Heredity. “Thin and fragile” parents, most likely, will not have a 4-5 kg ​​hero. And vice versa: strong tall parents with “wide bones” are unlikely to have a slender fragile baby.
• The gender of the child. Boys are usually heavier and larger than newborn girls.
• Mom’s health. The weight of the baby at birth may be insufficient or, on the contrary, too solid if the mother suffers from diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular diseases, if there is a metabolic disorder, hypertension or Rh incompatibility.
• Number of babies. The more crumbs a mother carries, the less the weight of each will be.
• The diet of the expectant mother. An excess of carbohydrates in mother’s food can make a newborn overweight. Lack of vitamins in the mother’s diet will lead to weight deficiency.
• Placenta. If the transport of nutrients to the crumb from the mother is disrupted, there is a lag in development.
• Bad habits of parents (especially mothers). Smoking, alcohol and coffee abuse not only lead to weight deficiency and premature birth, but also to developmental disorders.
• The number of mothers’ pregnancies. With each subsequent pregnancy, a baby is born larger than the previous one.
• Fetal health. Various diseases of the baby in the womb can lead to insufficient (for example, infection or malnutrition) or overweight (for example, Down’s syndrome).
• Mom gains too much weight during pregnancy. Mom’s increase of 15-20 kg provokes a decrease in the oxygen supply of the baby in the womb. How many kg of weight should a woman gain during pregnancy – norms and deviations of weight gain in pregnant women
• Prolonged pregnancy or premature birth. A premature baby will be underweight, and a premature baby will be overweight.

Weight loss in newborns in the hospital in the first days after birth – weight loss rates and causes

The reason for the first postpartum panic of a young mother, as a rule, is a sharp decrease in the baby’s weight. Even chubby healthy cherubs suddenly lose weight – and changes in parameters, which, it seems, should grow, naturally frighten mothers.

What do you need to remember?

First of all, the fact that weight loss for toddlers in the first days after birth is a physiological feature.

This loss of initial (at birth) weight has 3 degrees:

• 1st: with a loss of less than 6 percent. Symptoms: mild dehydration, mild anxiety and particular greed when feeding.
• 2nd: with a loss – about 6-10 percent. Symptoms: thirst, pallor of the skin, rapid breathing.
• 3rd: with weight loss – more than 10 percent. Symptoms: intense thirst, dry skin and mucous membranes, fever, frequent heartbeat.

Within 3-4 days, the doctors at the hospital will understand whether weight loss is critical – or the norm.

Why does a baby lose weight after birth?

The main reasons include:

• Adaptation to the extrauterine world. For a baby, life outside of mom in the first days of life and active sucking (instead of passively receiving nutrition through mom) is a serious work with a serious load, which naturally leads to weight loss.
• Strengthening the metabolism in the baby’s body. And, accordingly, high energy consumption, which also leads to weight loss.
• Insufficient replenishment of fluid balance. The baby breathes on his own, sweats, pees, spits up – but at the same time does not receive the required amount of liquid, because the mother does not immediately receive milk (at first, as you know, colostrum comes). In addition, a rare mother can boast of good lactation in the early days. It is important to understand that about 60 percent of all weight loss is loss of fluid through the skin, which will increase if the room is too dry or too hot.
• Sluggish sucking of the breast by the baby in the first days. Firstly, the baby is just learning to eat, secondly, he gets used to the new world, and thirdly, you still need to learn how to suck.

Children lose more than others in mass …

1. With a solid body weight.
2. Premature.
3. Born by caesarean section.
4. Those born with prolonged labor.
5. Those with birth trauma.

What are the rates of weight loss in babies in the first days of life?

As you know, the average body weight of a baby at birth is about 3 kg. In a situation of natural physiological weight loss, babies, in most cases, lose up to 5-10% from its original weight. That is, 150-300 g.

Moreover, the main loss occurs on the 3-5th day after birth, after which the weight gradually begins to recover by the 2nd week of life.

Video: What is the normal weight loss for a newborn? – Doctor Komarovsky:

The norms of weight gain for newborns by month in the table – how much should a child gain in weight up to a year?

The first thing that a mother should do after the birth of a baby is to attach the baby to her breast. The sooner the better. Alas, it is almost impossible to prevent weight loss in any way, but recovery will go faster, and weight deficit will not be very scary if you take a responsible approach to caring for your baby and breastfeeding.

On average, from the moment they regain their weight, the little ones begin to actively gain weight. from 125 to 500 g per week, average.

The rates of weight gain of newborns by month in the table:

Deviations from the norms of weight gain in newborns from 0 to a year – what can a too large increase or lack of it indicate?

The dynamics of the weight gain of the crumbs may depend on various reasons. And only a pediatrician can say – is this rate of increase optimal? or it makes sense to delve into the reasons for its insufficiency.

The child does not gain weight well – possible reasons:

• Mom’s milk deficiency – insufficient lactation. How to increase lactation – all available methods
• Low fat content of mother’s milk. Here is my mother’s wine – you should diversify the diet, eat foods with high calorie content. Diets during this period are unacceptable.
• Poor absorption of food in the baby’s body in connection with dysbiosis or other problems.
• Illiterate organization of feeding. For example, the mother feeds the baby incorrectly, she is distracted, the child is uncomfortable to eat, and so on.
• Frequent regurgitation. You can’t put the baby to bed right after “lunch” – first, you should hold the baby upright for about 10 minutes, “a soldier”, holding it to you. This is necessary for the assimilation of milk and the release of excess air.
• Too strict feeding regimen. Of course, it is necessary to accustom the child to the regime. But not in the first days after discharge from the hospital. It is too early to leave the child without nightly “snacks”. In addition, do not rush to tear the baby off the breast at the time of “lunch”: there are leisurely babies who suck very slowly and gorge themselves only after 40 minutes.
• The baby sucks the breast incorrectly. The mother should consult a pediatrician to understand how to properly give the baby a nipple so that sucking is complete.
• Development of neurological diseases. Usually, problems with the coordination of facial muscles, as well as underdevelopment of specific areas of the oral apparatus, affect the violation of the quality of feeding.
• Infectious, viral or other disease.
• Formula is not suitable for an artificial child.
• Stress. At such a young age, even swimming or massage can become physical stress for the little one.

You should be alert and consult a doctor if you have the following symptoms:

1. Lack of dynamics in weight gain in a child on arts / feeding with regular eating of the prescribed norm.
2. Dry and pale skin.
3. Lack of appetite, tearfulness.
4. Poor sleep, anxiety.

Reasons for gaining weight too quickly

Oddly enough, too much weight gain is also not very good.

The reasons for this violation can be:

• Physiological feature of development.
• Higher, in comparison with the norm, growth rates.
• Artificial feeding (an artificial baby always gets better faster than a breastfed baby).
• Eating too much – with formula or breast milk. It is extremely difficult to overfeed a child with breast milk, but in reality, if the feedings on demand are rather frequent and long, and there is more rear (more high-calorie) milk in percentage than front milk.
• Poor mix quality.

It is important to understand that too fast weight gain in crumbs can indicate various diseases, including thyroid disease!

Therefore, this issue cannot be ignored if …

1. The kid is getting better too quickly, and you can see it yourself, including comparing his weight with the table of norms.
2. Against the background of rapid weight gain, there are other symptoms that put you on your guard.
3. The skin color is unhealthy.
4. There are changes in the dynamics of nail growth.
5. The child is whiny, the mood often changes.
6. Stool problems appeared.
7. The color of the urine is alarming.
8. There are questions about the compliance of the child’s mental development with the norms.

It is also important to understand that graphs and tables of weight gain for newborns are not a 100% standard, and all data are presented in their averaged form. If the baby is vigorous, sleeps and eats well, he has normal skin and urine color, regular bowel movements, excellent mood, no signs of illness – do not panic.

Of course, a visit to a doctor in case of a strong deviation of weight indicators from the norm is necessary, but panic will be unnecessary.

In most cases, the pediatrician changes the feeding scheme or regimen – and the weight gain comes to normal values.

The Colady.ru website warns: all information on the site is for informational purposes only, and is not a guide to action. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a doctor. We kindly ask you not to self-medicate, but to make an appointment with a specialist!
Health to you and your loved ones!