When is the best time for newborns to supplement calcium? When does the umbilical cord of a newborn fall off?

Newborn babies develop very quickly. Many parents may worry that their babies are not getting enough nutrition, which may lead to slow development. So when is the best time to supplement calcium for newborns? How many days does it take for the umbilical cord of a newborn to fall off?

When is the best time to supplement calcium for newborns?

1. Infants and young children: Due to less outdoor activities and short sunshine time, the production of vitamin D in the body is limited, which is not conducive to calcium absorption and easily causes calcium deficiency. Therefore, children under two years old should pay attention to calcium and vitamin D supplementation, which is beneficial to the baby's healthy growth.

2. Premature babies, twins, children who grow too fast or are born in winter: These children are more likely to be deficient in calcium than other children, so attention should be paid to prevention in advance.

3. Children with overly good nutrition and overweight: These children need more calcium than ordinary children.

4. Children who are picky eaters, have anorexia, indigestion, have unreasonable dietary nutrition, and do not like to drink milk should pay attention to calcium supplementation.

5. Sick children: When infants and young children are ill, such as eczema, recurrent respiratory tract infections, acute and chronic diarrhea, etc., these diseases can easily affect the absorption of calcium and cause symptoms of calcium deficiency. Therefore, parents should consider the reasonable supplementation of calcium and other nutrients while treating the disease when the children are ill.

How many days does it take for the umbilical cord of a newborn to fall off?

1. Under normal circumstances, the umbilical cord of a newborn falls off 3 to 7 days after birth. The time of falling off varies slightly depending on the different ligation methods. Before the umbilical cord falls off, the umbilical cord is prone to become a hotbed for bacterial reproduction. In order to protect the umbilical cord, medical staff often apply gauze to the umbilical cord. The gauze should be removed 12 to 24 hours after birth. If the bandage is applied for too long, the gauze is easily contaminated by the newborn's urine and feces, creating conditions for the growth and reproduction of bacteria in the umbilical cord. Therefore, after the gauze of the umbilical cord is removed, new parents should carefully observe the umbilical cord. If the following abnormal conditions are found, they should be dealt with in time.

2. Redness and swelling of the skin around the navel

Within 1 to 2 days after the umbilical cord falls off, the navel looks a little moist, while the surrounding skin is normal. The secretions on it look a bit like yellow jelly, with no pus or odor. These are all normal phenomena.

If the navel has not dried up after 2 days and the skin is red and swollen, this is a sign of omphalitis and you should go to the hospital to see a doctor immediately. Do not buy some red and blue medicine or anti-inflammatory water to deal with it yourself.

3. Umbilical exudate

After the umbilical cord falls off naturally, the umbilical fossa will be a little damp and a little rice soup-like liquid will seep out. This is because the surface of the umbilical cord has not been completely covered by epithelial cells, and the liquid in the granulation tissue has seeped out. You can wipe it clean with 75% alcohol, usually 1 to 2 times a day, and the umbilical fossa will be dry after 2 to 3 days.

4. Umbilical pus

There is often secretion in the umbilical fossa of newborns. When the secretion dries, it can cause adhesion between the umbilical fossa and the root of the umbilical cord. At this time, the surface of the umbilical cord looks clean, but in fact, pus may accumulate in the umbilical fossa. Some mothers dare not touch the root of the umbilical cord and only wipe the surface of the umbilical cord, which actually has no disinfection effect.

The correct disinfection method is to dip a cotton swab in 75% alcohol after taking a bath every day, lift the ligature of the umbilical cord with one hand, and use the alcohol swab with the other hand to carefully separate the adhesion between the navel and the root of the umbilical cord. After the surrounding areas are separated, use a new alcohol swab to wipe in circles from the center of the navel to the outside. After wiping it clean, apply alcohol to the lifted ligature.

Do newborns need calcium supplements?

1. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, there is no need to supplement calcium. Breast milk is intelligent and will adjust the concentration and content of substances in the milk according to the needs of the baby.

2. If it is mixed feeding (i.e. insufficient breast milk and partial supplementation with formula milk), there is no need for calcium supplementation. The calcium in breast milk combined with the calcium in formula milk is sufficient for the baby to absorb and utilize.

3. For babies who are purely artificially fed (i.e. fed with milk powder only), there is no need for calcium supplementation. According to the Chinese Food Code, infant formula milk powder is fortified with calcium, and the calcium in it is sufficient for infants and young children to absorb and utilize.

What to do if your newborn spits up

1. Physiological reasons

The baby's stomach is not slanted downward like that of older children and adults, but is horizontal. This will reduce the capacity of the stomach and store less food. In addition, because the tension of the baby's esophageal muscles is relatively low, the cardia is relatively loose and not tightly closed, so it is easy for food to break out of the cardia, causing vomiting.

These physiological vomiting will stop as the baby grows older as the neural regulation of gastric ptosis, intestinal motility, and endocrine secretion of gastric acid and proteolytic enzymes gradually strengthen.

2. Pathological causes

Colds, bacterial infections, constipation, pyloric stenosis, esophageal atresia, intestinal atresia, intestinal malrotation, congenital megacolon, etc. can all cause abnormal spitting up in babies.

3. Improper feeding and care

Improper feeding posture, feeding too quickly, too much milk or too short an interval between meals; turning the baby too much during feeding; adding complementary foods too early; when feeding with a bottle, the hole of the nipple is too large, causing the milk to flow out too quickly and not have time to swallow, etc. These improper feeding methods will cause the baby to spit up milk.

When babies are 6 months old, they can not only master the sucking skills well, but also have more mature gastrointestinal functions, and the frequency of spitting up milk is significantly reduced. If newborns often spit up milk, mothers must distinguish whether it is due to physiological reasons, pathological reasons or improper feeding, so as to decide how to solve the problem of spitting up milk. Parents do not need to worry about spitting up milk under normal circumstances, as long as the baby's weight gain is normal and the mental state is good.