Many breastfeeding moms believe that significant weight loss after birth is reason to supplement with formula. In fact, I remember being told by a nurse when I was in the hospital with my son (aka the latch-on technique king of the world) that he had lost too much weight and I was starving him. I did not supplement with formula because I knew that in fact, weight loss after birth is normal. In fact, a new study has suggested that babies are over fed in the hospital with formula when they are supplemented. Here are a few reasons why babies lose weight:
Meconium
A baby should pass all of this sticky tar like substance within the first few days. Believe it or not, it does take up at least a few ounces of your baby’s weight. While that might not seem significant, when combined with other factors, it does contribute to the ‘weight loss’ phenomenon.
Colostrum
Colostrum is often referred to by nurses as liquid gold. It is simply filled with antibodies to help your baby fight off infections. The truth is, your breast milk is always filled with antibodies, it is a ‘living substance’. But the colostrum is especially rich with immunological properties. However, the colostrum does not have a lot of calories.
Many moms are told that because it doesn’t have a lot of calories, they should supplement. This is simply false. Babies are designed to get colostrums and not formula and so I must believe that they are not designed to get a lot of calories, but rather antibodies at the beginning of their life. It takes about three to four days for a mother’s milk to come in.
Bottles of Water
For the life of me, I don’t know why some hospitals still do this, but they do. Babies are often given a bottle of water after birth to make sure that everything is working well with the urinary tract system. But essentially, the baby is being given a calorie-less substance that fills his tummy. Remember, baby’s tummy is quite tiny and so it will take awhile for him to pass the water enough to be really hungry.
In my next blog, I’ll talk about what is normal, what is not, and when you should be worried.