What should we do if a newborn is malnourished? The impact of newborn malnutrition

What should we do if a newborn is malnourished? The impact of newborn malnutrition

The main reason for newborn malnutrition is improper feeding by the mother. The period after a baby is born is the fastest period of physical growth and development. If the baby is malnourished, it will have a great impact on the baby's health and even intellectual development. So what should we do if the newborn is malnourished? Let's take a look at the solution~

Living conditions have improved now, and parents always feed their babies the best food, but why are there more and more malnourished children? What are the reasons for malnutrition in babies? In fact, improper feeding methods by parents may also cause malnutrition in babies.

5 feeding methods that lead to malnutrition in babies

Wrong feeding method 1. Feeding rice porridge instead of milk powder If the mother does not breastfeed the baby, then the baby should be fed with infant milk products. Some parents think that milk powder is not safe enough, so they choose to feed the baby with rice porridge. This is a very incorrect practice and often leads to malnutrition in the baby. The main components of rice porridge are carbohydrates, and the content of fat and protein is insufficient to meet the baby's physical needs. Long-term feeding of rice porridge will lead to insufficient nutrition for the baby. In fact, as long as parents choose milk powder of good enough quality, they can also ensure the health of the baby.

Wrong feeding method 2: Only breastfeeding without adding complementary food to the baby

Many people think that infants under one year old can meet their daily nutritional needs as long as they are fed with breast milk, so they do not add complementary foods to infants within one year old. This practice is also wrong. The quality of breast milk varies from person to person. Some breast milk quality is problematic and cannot provide enough nutrition for infants. At this time, complementary foods should be added to children in time. Generally, infants under 4 months old can choose to add dairy products. When they are 5 months old, you can feed your baby some vegetable puree, and when they are 6 months old, you can feed them some fish. When the baby is 8 months old, you can feed them some tofu, animal blood and liver puree. Adding solid food to babies plays an important role in the baby's nutrient absorption, so don't just feed your baby soup.

Wrong feeding method 3: Frequently changing milk powder brands

Babies need a period of adaptation to the taste of milk powder. Some parents frequently change milk powder when they find that their children do not like it. In fact, babies only dislike a certain brand of milk powder temporarily. Once the baby gets used to the taste, they will no longer reject it. Frequent changes of milk powder are not conducive to the baby's absorption of protein. Therefore, once parents have determined the quality of a certain brand of milk powder, they should insist on feeding it to their babies, which is more conducive to the baby's absorption of protein.

Wrong feeding method 4: Mixing milk powder and milk powder together

Some parents think that mixing milk powder and glutinous rice with their baby will be more nutritious, but this is not the case. Improper mixing of milk powder may also lead to incomplete protein absorption by the baby. Parents are advised to mix milk powder according to the dosage on the milk powder package. If too much milk powder is added, it will not only be detrimental to the baby's absorption of nutrients, but may also cause a burden on the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. If the milk powder is too diluted, it will lead to insufficient protein content. Therefore, unless the milk powder and glutinous rice are mixed in proportion after careful calculation of the nutrients, the effect of mixing will not be as good as formula milk powder.

Wrong feeding method 5. Parents have no patience in feeding their babies

Some parents are not careful enough, do not have patience, do not care enough about the baby's physical condition, and do not pay attention to the feeding process and method. Some parents feed their children with milk powder when they are hungry. In this way, parents do not know how much milk powder the baby drinks every day. Sometimes it is too much, sometimes it is too little, which can easily lead to malnutrition in the baby. Parents can remember the feeding time and amount every day, so that they can easily and accurately grasp the child's food intake. It is also important to clean and disinfect the feeding bottles in time to ensure hygiene.

What to do if your newborn is malnourished

Newborns are like young grass sprouts and young silkworms. They have delicate skin and weak disease resistance. They need to gradually adapt to the external environment, so they need to be fed carefully and cared for carefully. If they are neglected, they are prone to malnutrition, which can lead to adverse consequences. So, what should we do if newborns are malnourished? Let's learn about it together.

1. Change the feeding method. Because the newborn's cognitive and language systems are not yet fully developed, they cannot clearly express their intentions. At this time, the feeder needs to carefully observe the needs of the newborn and change the bad feeding method in time.

2. Check whether it is caused by disease. Sometimes malnutrition may be caused by disease. Once the disease is found, it should be treated as soon as possible, and then combined with other methods to restore the child's health.

3. Increase the child's happy mood. When people are depressed, their appetite will be poor. Although newborns are small, they already have basic emotions, so you should make the child happy and increase his interest in all aspects.

The dangers of malnutrition in children

After a baby is born, its head circumference increases rapidly, especially within the first two years of birth. This shows that their brain is developing rapidly. If the nutrition intake is insufficient during this stage, it will affect the development of the brain. Some people have conducted follow-up observations on malnourished babies. In the first six months after birth, malnourished babies not only did not gain weight or gained weight slowly, but also lagged behind ordinary babies in intelligence and motor development. Even if the malnutrition was corrected and the weight increased, the lag in intelligence development could not be made up.

If a baby is malnourished after the age of 2-3, even if he is underweight and mentally retarded, both can return to normal as long as the malnutrition is corrected. This shows that if the nutrition supply is insufficient during the rapid development of the brain, it may cause irreversible damage to intelligence. Malnutrition not only affects the function of the brain, but also affects the morphology of the brain, such as varying degrees of brain atrophy.

Nutrition supply must first meet the needs of heat energy and protein, and high-quality protein should account for 1/2-2/3 of the protein. Taurine is closely related to brain development. It is rich in breast milk, but less in cow's milk, so babies fed with cow's milk should pay attention to supplementing taurine. Essential fatty acids should account for 1%-3% of heat energy, which is beneficial to brain development and the formation of nerve myelin.

Lack of trace elements can also affect the baby's intelligence. Iron deficiency can cause anemia, and before the symptoms of anemia appear, the baby has already shown symptoms such as irritability, memory loss, and lack of concentration, which leads to a decline in academic performance. These symptoms will disappear after iron supplementation.

Zinc deficiency in the diet can cause a decrease in the baby's blood zinc, affecting physical and intellectual development.

Iodine deficiency affects the synthesis of thyroid hormone, which can promote brain development. Vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 deficiency can cause convulsions and affect the baby's future intelligence. Therefore, if the baby wants to be smart, the nutrition must be balanced.

How to treat baby malnutrition

1. Emphasize: Nutrition is relatively comprehensive. Of course, breastfeeding is also very important for the mother's diet. In addition to a light and nutritious diet, the mother must also maintain a good lifestyle, which is conducive to breastfeeding. Then let the baby take enough vitamins A and D, which can be taken until two to three years old.

2. Add complementary foods rich in calcium and vitamin D in time, such as egg yolks, cod liver oil, fruit juice, etc. The time and amount of complementary foods can be added according to the baby's overall situation. Generally, babies can add some complementary foods appropriately at four months old. If the baby is over one year old, milk, eggs, green leafy vegetables, etc. can be taken regularly every day.

3. As the baby grows older, he can eat more foods such as milk, eel, rice porridge, whitebait, etc. Also, pay attention to making the food rotten, fine and soft, which will be beneficial to the baby's digestion and absorption.

4. Malnutrition recipe - mushroom porridge

Ingredients: 50 grams of millet, 50 grams of fresh mushrooms.

Method: Cook the millet porridge first, take the soup, and then cook it with mushrooms.

Usage: Take 3 times a day, continuous use is effective.

Food incompatibility: Millet should not be eaten with almonds.

Malnutrition recipe-Pork chop stewed with radish

Ingredients: 500 grams of white radish, 250 grams of pork ribs (large ribs), 3 grams of salt, and 10 grams of green onions.

Method: Chop the ribs into 3 cm pieces. Cut the white radish into slices. Stew the ribs until the meat is off the bones, then add the radish slices and green onions and stew until cooked. Skim the floating oil on the soup surface, add salt and serve.

Food incompatibility: White radish should not be eaten with ginseng or American ginseng.

Malnutrition Recipe-Banana Raisin Milk

Ingredients: 30 grams of milk, 25 grams of banana, 20 grams of brown rice, 10 grams of raisins, and 5 grams of lemon juice.

Method: Cut the banana into 5mm round slices and sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour cooked brown rice into a bowl, add banana slices, raisins, and milk and serve.

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