Neonatal Weight Loss

Babies lose weight after they are born. However, losing too much weight is certainly not a good sign. In fact, it's cause for worry. Some weight loss is to be expected but if it's extreme and doesn't start coming back within a few days, you need to contact your pediatrician.

Expectations

• Babies may gain excess weight at the last minute while in utero if their mother has been given IV fluids while in labor. Consequently, the infant's actual weight is inflated by these excessive fluids. Normally, a baby will lose 5 percent of his birth weight in the first week of life if he's bottle fed. If he's breastfed, the weight loss will be 7 percent. The absolute most a baby should lose in the first week of life is 10 percent, according to Lactationconsultant.info.com, Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC .

Considerations

• Most babies are put in incubators after birth, which can cause fluid loss because of the heat. The temperature in the isolette shouldn't be above 80 degree F. In addition, if a baby is given formula or water immediately after birth, this can cause weight loss. Babies who don't eat immediately have less weight loss than those babies who are given glucose water.

Progress

• Most newborns will gain at least 141 g or 5 oz. a week during their first month of life, according to Levinchildrenshospital.com. Many newborns actually go through a rapid growth spurt when they are 7 to 10 days old and again between 3 and 6 weeks of age.

Breastfed

• If a breastfed baby loses 7 percent of her weight in the first three days, yet appears to be eating well, seems healthy and is having regular and normal bowel movements, there is no reason to panic. The baby should be checked again in two days to see if the weight loss has stopped.

Warning

• There is a condition called hypernatremic dehydration, which is breast-feeding malnutrition, according to Cmaj.ca. The theory is that early discharge from the hospital leaves some mothers ill-equipped for breast feeding, which can lead to neonatal morbidity. Some babies simply do not get enough milk when breastfeeding. While some mothers recognize this and supplement with formulas, others may fail to recognize that their baby isn't thriving.

Outcome

• Hypernatremic dehydration can lead to permanent vascular and neurological damage, seizures and even death. A newborn will usually eat every two to four hours and her intake of milk will be 30mL at a minimum. It is entirely normal for a newborn to lose 7 percent of his birth weight during this time, as noted earlier. However, a neonate or newborn should begin regaining the weight within a few days and regain her birth weight by the tenth day of her life. If a baby isn't having bowel movements, is losing weight and there are urate crystals in her BM, this means the baby is in distress and dehydrated from insufficient fluid intake. This is considered failure to thrive. Contact your doctor immediately.

Recommendation

• You should base your baby's weight gain on the lowest known weight. Babies should be weighed naked and this should be done three to five days after discharge from the hospital.