Breastfeeding is what nature gave a woman. Every mother loves her child and takes care of him twenty-four hours a day. And most of all she worries about whether the baby has enough breast milk, is he getting enough?

After childbirth, most women produce a small amount of milk. There is no need to worry, because on the second day lactation will return to normal. Inexperienced mothers should help themselves stabilize lactation, but, unfortunately, they do not know what they need to do for this.

The amount of milk will depend on the baby's needs. The mother only needs to constantly monitor the feeding process in order to understand whether her baby is full or not.

Main signs of malnutrition in infants

• After feeding, a hungry baby will smack his tongue or look for a source of milk with his mouth, and may even suck his finger.
• His behavior may be lethargic and slightly inhibited, and sleep disturbances are possible.
• It may be the other way around, the baby is too active - he can cry often and for a long time, reacts sharply to his mother’s arrival or even her smell.
• A well-fed child urinates up to twenty times a day, and after each feeding he urinates. This indicates that mother's milk is absorbed normally. If the number of these “events” is much less, this is a sign of malnutrition.
• The child does not gain weight well or even loses it in the first month or subsequent months (except for the time spent in the maternity hospital).
• When breastfeeding, the baby does not require any supplements in the first months. You don’t even need to drink water, because breast milk is almost eighty percent water. And a sign of malnutrition can be dehydration, which can be determined by excessive dryness of the baby's skin.

How to tell if your baby is getting enough milk

A mother can easily understand that her baby is hungry and that something is wrong with the milk. What are the main reasons why a baby doesn’t eat enough? How to identify them? There may be several reasons, but all of them can be divided into three groups: social environment, nutrition and behavior of a nursing woman, and the health of the child.

Social environment

• Dysfunctional family, difficult emotional situation, unwillingness to support and help a nursing mother.
• Difficult relationships between spouses, unfavorable place of residence and family living conditions.
• A woman has a lot of household workload and no time for proper rest.
• The conditions and place for feeding the child are poorly organized.

Behavioral factors

• A nursing mother does not follow the rules of nutrition for a breastfeeding woman. It is necessary to eat only recommended healthy foods for mother and baby. Meals should be balanced and regular.
• Lack of walks in the fresh air, lack of physical activity.
• Not getting enough sleep and constant fatigue. Need more rest.
• Inexperienced mothers often violate breastfeeding techniques and give the baby the breast incorrectly.
• The mother's diet contains foods that are harmful to the baby and affect the taste of the milk.
• Reluctance to breastfeed or unpreparedness (illness, nervous disorders and depression after childbirth, sore nipples).
• There is such a thing in medicine as a “flat nipple.”

Physiological factors

• If a newborn is born with a large weight (four kilograms or more), then in the first days after birth he will not have enough milk. But this will not last long; soon lactation will adapt to the child’s appetites. Only in the first days the baby will not eat enough.
• Anything that can interfere with the sucking process is damage to the oral mucosa, nasal congestion, abdominal cramps, and uncomfortable feeding position.
• Hyperlactation is an excess amount of breast milk.

This excess usually appears with frequent breast pumping. Mom thinks that the more milk the better and continues to increase the amount by pumping.

Note to young mothers!

Breast milk consists of more high-calorie and thick milk (hind milk) and less rich milk, which the baby drinks instead of water (fore milk). A nursing mother should have as much milk as her baby eats at a certain age. And if there is more milk, then the baby is fed with fore milk (practically water), and the mother expresses the excess milk (hind milk). It turns out that the child is fed empty milk, and this is the reason for malnutrition.

• A breastfeeding woman should eat properly and at certain times (about five times a day).
• To stimulate the process of milk production, you need to drink the required amount of liquid (tea with milk, water, cocoa, jelly, dried fruit compote).
• When choosing a diet, follow the recommendations on what a nursing mother can eat and what not. Eliminate “harmful” foods.
• Be sure to take daily walks in parks and squares, away from the bustle of the city and highways.
• Try to find time for proper sleep and rest from household chores. Let your loved ones share your concerns related to the baby.
• Feed on demand and supplement with breast milk from a bottle as needed.
• Maintain body and breast hygiene especially, treat cracked nipples with products that are safe for babies, and do a light breast massage.
• Create a positive atmosphere when feeding - space, air, sounds.

If the child is full, then the mother will be able to devote the necessary time to herself.

Any mother knows that breast milk is the most valuable product for the early development of a little person. It is with it that all the nutrients necessary for normal growth and development enter the body, and immunity is also formed. Therefore, it is extremely important to leave the child on this type of nutrition for as long as possible. This is why situations with a lack of milk can become critical and cause anxiety in the mother. In this article, you can find out whether the baby is getting enough breast milk, what are the reasons for its lack and malnutrition in the toddler, and you will find out what to do to increase lactation.

How to tell if your baby is getting enough milk

There are a number of signs by which a mother can determine whether her baby is getting enough breast milk. After all, this cannot always be understood based only on the amount of milk produced. And even if you have it in abundance, this does not mean that the child will definitely be full. Here it's faster the other way around. As you know, milk consists of a liquid part, which replaces water, and a dense part, which replaces food. The liquid fraction is released first and, if there is a lot of it, the baby actually fills the stomach with a low-calorie product and, it seems, he has filled his tummy, but at the same time remains absolutely hungry. There is also another option, when the amount of milk is ideal, but it is low in fat, so the baby also does not get enough. In addition to such cases, there is another option: the child simply does not digest what he eats and, accordingly, the baby cannot gain weight.

Here are the actual criteria by which the mother can understand that the baby may remain hungry:

1. Pay attention to whether you are applying the baby to the breast correctly - the baby should swallow the areola along with the nipple (when viewed from above). If this is not the case, most likely the baby is not receiving enough milk.
2. When a baby suckles, he should do it according to this pattern: the baby lowers his chin, returns it to its original position and pauses, then everything is repeated in a circle. And so, the longer the pause, the more milk the baby swallows. Therefore, if your baby does not suck milk according to this pattern or the pauses are almost imperceptible, then, most likely, he eats practically nothing.
3. Based on the appearance and smell of your baby's stool, you can tell whether he has enough milk. In the first 7 days after birth, some discrepancies with the norm are allowed, or rather, this will be the norm, because the baby spent 9 months in the womb. But then the baby’s feces should acquire characteristic signs, the presence of which will indicate that the baby is completely saturated with breast milk. These are the following characteristics: absence of impurities, homogeneous, mushy structure, light brown color, no odor. If your baby’s stool is different, this may indicate not only that the baby is not getting enough to eat or that the milk is poorly absorbed by the baby’s body. Therefore, it is important to tell the pediatrician about this during the examination. Sometimes doctors ask to demonstrate the baby’s stool visually, for example, show the baby’s diaper.
4. By the nature and amount of urination, you can also understand whether there is enough crumbs of breast milk in the diet. Up to six months, a child can urinate up to ten times a day with normal consumption of “essential food.” Urine is odorless and almost transparent. It is these signs that will indicate that the baby’s body is receiving the required amount of mother’s milk.

It is also necessary to know that in children in the first 7 days after birth, urine may have a reddish tint. This is the norm.

1. And of course, the most important criterion by which you can immediately understand that a child is starving is a clear, critical lack of weight. There are generally accepted indicators of baby height and weight that correspond to age standards. When weighing, the doctor will be able to tell you whether the baby has gained enough over the past month and whether his weight corresponds to what a child of his gender and age should have. Small deviations from the norm may still be acceptable, but if they are large, then this is a clear and unambiguous sign that the baby is not getting enough of your milk.

Symptoms of malnutrition

1. The baby begins to cry bitterly if you take the breast.
2. The child began to move less.
3. There is a feeling that the little one does everything with a delay.
4. The baby is hysterically happy when he sees his mother or smells the breast.
5. The child sleeps poorly or often wakes up at night, or there may be a complete lack of sleep.
6. The little one cries often, but he is healthy and his diaper is dry.
7. The baby rarely defecates and pees.
8. The child takes various objects into his mouth and tries to suck and gnaw on them.
9. The baby bites your nipple, as if trying to squeeze out more milk.
10. The child’s weight does not correspond to his age standards. Or sudden weight loss.

Also, if there is a lack of milk, the baby also experiences a lack of fluid in the body, and this is characterized by the following symptoms:

1. The baby is drowsy and lethargic.
2. Mouth gets dry.
3. Cries without tears.
4. Bad smell from mouth.
5. Urination is infrequent and smells bad.

What are the reasons for this situation

1. Trying to teach a child to eat.
2. If the baby spits out the nipple, this does not mean that he is full, perhaps the milk there has simply run out. Do not rush to remove the baby, offer him the second breast.
3. Incorrect position of the baby during feeding. The toddler should swallow the areola and nipple almost entirely.
4. It is uncomfortable for the baby to lie down; he feels discomfort.
5. You have given up night feedings, but the baby has not yet been able to adapt to this regime and during the day does not have time to suck out the required daily volume of milk.
6. Excess milk. The baby only manages to suck out the front fraction of the milk, which, in fact, replaces the liquid. Therefore, the baby remains hungry and does not gain weight.
7. Silicone covers, which mothers put on the nipple to facilitate this process, can prevent the little one from eating properly.
8. The baby eats little due to poor health and health problems.
9. The little one falls asleep and does not have time to drink the required amount of milk. In such situations, be sure to wake up the baby so that he has time to finish eating.

What leads to a lack of milk

Milk is produced in insufficient quantities, in particular due to the fact that the baby sucks little, is distracted by something and the flow becomes smaller, and the baby often remains hungry. So, what are the reasons that the baby behaves this way and that your breast milk is increasingly disappearing:

1. The child has a distraction, for example, there is a cartoon on TV.
2. The baby has a baby in his mouth or a respiratory tract disease, and it just hurts him to suck and swallow.
3. The little one has started to have digestive problems and is not happy with food.
4. The baby is not attached correctly or is generally in an uncomfortable position.
5. The milk has a bad taste (mom ate something wrong) - the little one may not drink it for this reason.
6. Stressful situations in the family.
7. Mom's diet is not balanced.
8. Cracks or bite wounds have formed on the nipples.
9. Mom eats few foods that stimulate lactation and drinks little liquid.
10. Anatomical features of the mother's nipple.
11. Mother's psychological unpreparedness for breastfeeding.

How to increase lactation

A common problem for nursing mothers. Here are some recommendations on this issue:

1. Study your diet. You may not be eating often enough or in the wrong amounts (you need five small meals a day).
2. You must remember to drink your daily fluid intake, more in the summer.
3. Eat foods that have lactogenic properties.
4. Spend more time in the fresh air; healthy sleep is also important.
5. Avoid stressful situations.
6. Massage your mammary glands.

I also faced the fact that there was not enough milk to feed my son. The doctor advised me to start eating foods that increase lactation levels, namely: bread with cumin, nuts, lean fish and meat, cheese, hard cheese, dairy products, oatmeal, carrots and more. And changing my diet helped me not only normalize my lactation level, but also get more milk. Then I balanced the foods in my diet and reached a normal amount of milk.

It is important to understand that the baby reaches for the breast not only when he wants to eat. This can also happen simply because of the desire to feel the warmth of my mother’s body, to feel her affection. So in such situations, you shouldn’t start panicking and sounding the alarm that your little one is starving. If the child develops normally, his height and weight correspond to age standards, then why be nervous at all. And if the little one really doesn’t eat enough, then you need to urgently take action and, if necessary, start feeding the baby with formula.

This kind of anxiety can arise both in the mother of a breastfed child and in the mother of a bottle-fed child. The result of systematic malnutrition in a child is a lack of weight gain or a decrease in the child’s weight compared to the previous weighing, which can be caused by both a quantitative lack of food and insufficient calorie content. In this case, when breastfeeding, the question arises about the amount of supplementary feeding, and when artificial feeding, it may be necessary to change the infant formula, which requires a clearly justified and professional approach.

How to understand that a child is not eating enough

1. The weight gain per month is insignificant or completely absent, which leads to a child’s weight deficit compared to the age norm. The only exception is the postpartum period in the maternity hospital, when weight loss of 5-10% of the initial body weight is considered normal.
2. The alternation of sucking and swallowing is disrupted. Normally, one swallow of milk occurs for several sucking movements.
3. If you adhere to a certain feeding regimen, then the child has difficulty withstanding the breaks between feedings, worries and screams.
4. The baby's stool is rare (less than 2-3 times a day) and not as plentiful as before. If on the 5th day there is still meconium in the stool (it is dark in color and resembles tar), then there is not enough nutrition.
5. The number of urinations due to lack of milk is reduced. This indicator is especially informative for newborns.
6. Excessive dry skin may occur due to dehydration.

Determining whether the baby has enough breast milk

Sometimes mothers, not knowing how to determine whether the baby has enough milk, are guided by signs that do not correspond to reality and themselves begin to supplement the baby, which often leads to overfeeding. Below are the 7 most common misconceptions about low breast milk supply.

1. Milk does not leak from the breast between feedings. The release of milk between feedings is possible if it is unsettled, while the breast and baby have not yet adjusted to each other. If lactation is established, then there may be no leakage of milk, since it is produced as much as the baby needs.
2. There is no feeling of fullness in the chest. As in the previous case, this is not a sign of a lack of milk at all, but a sign of established lactation, during which the breast accurately meets the baby’s nutritional needs.
3. It is almost impossible to express milk from the breast between breastfeedings. If a woman cannot express milk or expresses little milk, this is not a sign of its absence or shortage. The mechanism of milk secretion is closely related to the baby, and it is impossible to artificially replace the sucking process with manual expression or a breast pump.
4. The baby screams during or after feeding. This indicator is not informative enough, since in addition to hunger, a child can scream for other reasons: illness, discomfort, wet diaper.
5. The child sucks the breast for a long time or does not let it out of his mouth. The reason for this behavior may not be hunger, but the satisfaction of the baby's sucking reflex or the need for the mother's close proximity, the desire to feel safe.
6. After breastfeeding, the baby additionally sucks formula from a bottle. A peculiarity of young children is that when an object convenient for sucking gets into the mouth, the child begins to suck on it, and a bottle with a nipple in this case is exactly such an object. In this case, excess food can play a negative role, leading on the baby’s part to overeating, and on the mother’s part to a reduction in lactation, since instead of sucking the breast, the baby sucks on a bottle and the breast is less stimulated.
7. Short periods of sleep in the child. It is not always a sign of malnutrition, and if a child wakes up at night to eat in the first months, this is the absolute norm.

If there is reason to believe that the child is not getting enough to eat, it is imperative to determine whether the child is receiving a sufficient amount of milk compared to existing standards. discussed in detail in a separate article. The next step is to determine the amount of milk that the baby actually eats. There are several methods for this.

Urine counting method

The convenience of this method is that within a day you will know whether the child is eating enough. To do this, you need to know the volume of urine excreted per day and the volume of milk needed by the child, taking into account his age and weight. The first value is determined experimentally, and the second is calculated. The most preferable formula is considered to be N.F. Filatov modified by G.I. Zaitseva.

Procedure
We collect all the diapers used during the day in a plastic bag, which after adding the next diaper we twist tightly so that the child’s urine does not evaporate and we clean the feces.

1. After one day, we weigh a bag of dirty diapers and the same bag of clean diapers, the number of which corresponds to dirty diapers.
2. From the first value we subtract the second and get the mass of urine excreted per day, which normally should be 46-66% of the volume of milk consumed.
3. When calculating, we consider the weight and volume of urine equal, neglecting the density.
4. Using the volume of urine, we calculate the volume of milk that the baby sucked and compare it with the norm.

Example
Initial data:

• child's body weight 3200 g;
• child's age is 8 days;
• weight of clean diapers 300 g;
• weight of dirty diapers 470 g.

Calculation:

1. We calculate the volume of milk your child needs per day using the formula:
   Amount of milk per day, ml = 2% of body weight × Day of a child’s life.
   Amount of milk per day, ml = 0.02 × 3500 g × 8 days. = 560 ml.
2. Calculate the mass of urine:
   Weight of urine, g = Weight of dirty diapers, g - Weight of clean diapers, g.
   Weight of urine, g = 470 g – 300 g = 170 g.
   We consider the mass of urine excreted to be approximately equal to the volume of urine. That is, the resulting volume of urine is 170 ml.
3. We calculate the probable minimum and maximum volume of milk received by the child per day:
   Probable minimum volume of milk, ml = Volume of urine, ml/46%.
   Probable minimum volume of milk, ml = 170 ml/0.46 = 370 ml.
   Probable maximum milk volume, ml = Urine volume, ml/66%.
   Probable maximum volume of milk, ml = 170 ml/0.66 = 258 ml.
   Probable average volume of milk, ml = (370 +258)/2 = 314 ml.
4. We calculate the possible lack of milk based on the volume of urine:
   Possible lack of milk, ml = Amount of milk per day, ml - Probable average volume of milk, ml.
   Possible lack of milk, ml = 560 ml - 314 ml = 246 ml.

Method for counting the number of urinations

Using data on the amount of urine excreted per day by a child, you can determine the lack of milk in a simpler way - by the number of urinations. In this case, there is no need to specifically count them. After all, we already know the amount of urine from the method described above, and the volume of urine excreted at one time is about 30 ml. By dividing the daily volume of urine by the volume of urine per urination, we find out their quantity. The minimum norm for a child aged 8-14 days, subject to exclusive breastfeeding and no additional water, is 8 times per day.

The number of urinations depending on the age of the child

The number of urinations in our case is approximately 6 times, which indicates a lack of milk. In order to find out how much is missing from the norm, you need to add 50 ml for each missing urination. In our case, the volume is 100 ml.

If you do not know the volume of urine, then to calculate the number of urinations per day, it is best to use regular cloth reusable diapers.

Important! An error in the method may arise due to the individual characteristics of a child who pees a little, but often the number of urinations is not indicative for him.

Expected increase method

As in the first method, here you need to weigh the diapers used per day and clean diapers to determine the difference in weight. Only in this case there is no need to clean off the feces. If by chance the baby peed past the diaper during the day, then for each such case we add 30 g. All values ​​in the table are given for children under 4 months of age, weighing 3500 g or more.

A single weighing can be carried out if there is a suspicion of a lack of milk, but if a lack of milk is detected, it is better to do it 2-3 more times. Control weighing of the child is carried out once a week.

Weighing before and after feeding

Weigh the baby before and after feeding. The difference in weight corresponds to the amount of milk sucked.

Disadvantages of the method:

• with a single weighing, it is impossible to extend the result to all feedings, since the baby sucks out different amounts of milk from feeding to feeding;
• weighing at each feeding creates a constant stressful situation for both mother and baby;
• the result may be influenced by the situation and the fact of the test itself, which can cause stress in the mother and the baby will not be able to suck milk from the breast;
• it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the child’s regime, so at this moment he may not be hungry or will want to sleep;
• Weighing errors on scales can sometimes cause the value to be overestimated or underestimated.

Weekly weight gain method

To do this, you need to know how much the child has gained in a week. Next, focusing on the average gain of 198 g, according to WHO tables, it is necessary to calculate the difference between the actual weight gain of the child and the average gain.

Disadvantages of the method:

• The child’s weight, which grows with age, is not taken into account. In connection with this, a large amount of supplementary feeding is obtained for children aged 1-2 months and small amounts of supplementary feeding for children aged 3-4 months;
• The individual characteristics of the child related to metabolism are not taken into account. Some children eat less, but absorb more, others eat more, but absorb less;
• The weight gain taken as the basis of the method is an average value and does not take into account larger or smaller gains characteristic of equally healthy children. Also, this increase is an average only for the first 4 months of life, without taking into account gender differences.

"Intuitive" method

Allows the child to independently determine how much milk or formula is missing to the norm. It is assumed that the child himself knows how much milk he needs and if you do not interfere with this process, he will eat the required amount himself. For this purpose, it is advisable to use objects that cannot be sucked: a syringe, a pipette, a spoon, since they exclude sucking for pleasure and, as soon as the baby is full, he himself will refuse them.

What to do if your child doesn't eat enough

If you still find out that the amount of milk is not enough, you should first find out

It is believed that supplementary feeding is needed if the lack of milk is more than 25% compared to the norm. If the lack of milk is in the range of 10% -25%, then it is not necessary to prescribe supplementary feeding; it is enough just to increase the number of breastfeedings and monitor the correctness of breastfeeding. Expressed breast milk, donor milk or formula can be used as supplementary feeding. At an age suitable for introducing complementary foods, complementary foods are usually replaced with suitable complementary foods.

Important! It is believed that supplementary feeding is needed if the lack of milk is more than 25% compared to the norm.

A temporary lack of milk can occur during growth spurts in the baby at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of life. In this case, supplementary feeding is usually not prescribed, since the breast, if the baby is allowed to suck on it as much as he requires, will quickly adjust to new volumes of milk. If you start giving supplementary feeding, the baby will become full, the breasts will not be stimulated and there will be no increase in breast milk production.

Important! A temporary lack of milk can occur during growth spurts in the baby at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of life.

Important! If the child does not have time to suck out the fat-rich hind milk due to short sucking, it is necessary to express and supplement the baby with the milk that he did not have time to suck.

Things are somewhat different with artificial feeding. If the volume of the formula meets the established standards, but there is no increase, most likely the formula is not suitable for the child and the pediatrician will advise changing it.

Every woman knows that breastfeeding is the basis for the full development of the baby. And the longer it lasts, the better (there are many debates, but the optimal period of breastfeeding is considered to be 2.5-3 years). However, many mothers worry that their child is not getting enough to eat. This can become a real problem if your baby shows signs of dehydration.

How to tell if your baby is full

The proper functioning and development of both the digestive system and other body systems and the development of immunity depend on the adequate nutrition of a small child. This is why the issue of baby's satiety worries most parents.

The fact that a child is full can be judged by the following signs:

1. Mom feeds him a sufficient number of times a day - 5-8 times depending on the age of the baby (or as required).
2. The child is gaining weight according to medical standards.
3. Feeding duration is at least 20 minutes. There is also no need to deliberately delay this procedure. If the baby is full, he will be cheerful, start playing or fall asleep peacefully, and will not be capricious.
4. You can trace the swallowing reflex (it is well expressed). At the beginning of feeding, the baby swallows faster because he is hungry. Then the baby sucks rhythmically, but more slowly.
5. The child is not overexcited, but active and looks healthy. His skin is pink and elastic.

Now it is clear how to understand that an infant is full, but you should not overfeed the child either, because this is an additional burden on the digestive tract that has not yet formed.

If the mother notes that she has an abundance of milk and it is well released from the breast, then the baby does not need 20 minutes to get enough. This usually happens earlier, after which the baby begins to suck sluggishly or drop the breast and turn away.

Weight standards by month

To avoid worrying about whether your baby is eating enough, look at the weight gain chart by month.

These figures are averages. If your indicators differ from the table data by 100-150 g, it’s okay. Each baby's body is individual.

Please note: sometimes the data spread can be greater (for example, in premature babies, with developmental anomalies, etc.). But if, during a routine examination, the pediatrician, knowing your baby, assures that there is nothing to worry about, then it is better to trust the opinion of a specialist. The mother’s nervousness can be transmitted to the baby and affect his condition; it also affects lactation. , You can go for a consultation with another pediatrician if it makes you feel safer.

How does a baby's milk supply increase in the first year?

In the first days, a baby who has experienced severe stress at birth does not require a large amount of mother's milk. A small amount of colostrum is enough for him, which is very nutritious. Only over time does the digestive system “start up” and the sucking reflex improves. Then the need for nutrition increases.

Immediately after birth, the volume of the baby's stomach is only 7-10 ml. After two or three days it increases to 25 ml. After just a week, the volume becomes another 1.5-2 times larger. The need for breast milk also increases.

After a month, the child’s nutrition returns to normal. He eats about 6-8 times a day. In this case, the volume of milk drunk per feeding reaches 80-100 ml. At three months a baby can eat 150 ml, at six months - 180-200 ml, at a year - approximately 250 ml of milk or formula.

Signs that your baby is hungry

To understand whether the baby is full, the mother needs to pay attention to the following signs that indicate that the baby is not getting enough:

• the baby’s body weight is too low (weight gain per month differs significantly from the tabulated data);
• the breaks between feedings are too short, and at this time the child is restless;
• the baby sucks a lot, but swallows little;
• the child can put everything that comes into his mouth: clothes, sheets, toys, and even smacks his lips;
• the baby greedily grabs the breast, is often capricious, reacts sharply to the appearance of the mother, her smell;
• the baby rarely soils diapers;
• the skin is dry, as are the mucous membranes;
• the baby becomes less active, he looks weakened;
• the baby's activity may decrease during wakefulness;
• the child does not sleep well.

If breast milk is not enough, then the normal development of the baby is in question.

Reasons for the problem

If there is no doubt about whether the child is eating enough, and the baby really drinks little milk, then you need to find out the reason for this negative phenomenon. It may be one of the following:

1. Accurate adherence to feeding regimen. Experts have long been talking about the need to provide breastfeeding to a child at his request, and not according to the clock. The baby's body has its own biological clock. In addition, much depends on the quality of breast milk and the speed of its digestion. The only thing that should not be forgotten is the intervals between meals: they should not be less than two hours.
2. Short duration of feeding. It should not be less than 15-20 minutes.
3. Incorrect breast latch by the baby. This often results from the use of silicone covers on injured nipples.
4. Frequent use of pacifiers or bottles.
5. Using an awkward posture.
6. Reducing or eliminating the number of night feedings. It is known that in this case the amount of mother's milk also decreases significantly.

There are other reasons that can lead to malnutrition:

• insufficient fluid intake by a nursing mother, as a result of which the amount of milk decreases;
• women's malnutrition;
• a stressful situation, emotional or nervous shock (such factors can completely stop lactation);
• hormonal imbalance;
• physiological features of the structure of the breast, in which the child cannot grasp the nipple correctly;
• problems with the baby’s digestive system (as well as other somatic diseases of the baby);
• nasal congestion, runny nose in the child (in this case he cannot breathe normally and is capricious).

The problem of malnutrition may appear if the baby is very large and simply does not have enough milk, and also if the baby is weakened and does not have the strength to suckle at the breast for a long time.

If these reasons are eliminated, the child’s nutrition will improve. However, in some cases, the mother will have to see a doctor much earlier than the scheduled examination (usually it is carried out once a month).

When you need to see a doctor urgently

So, you need to call an ambulance if:

• the baby is constantly lethargic, his usual activity is absent, he is poorly interested in the world around him;
• the eyes sink and the gaze becomes dull;
• there is an unpleasant odor from the mouth;
• the baby constantly cries, but no tears come out;
• mucous membranes become dry, skin becomes flabby (wrinkled);
• The color of the urine has changed and become darker.

These signs indicate severe dehydration. If measures are not taken in time, even death is possible. The child's body is still too weak to cope with dehydration.

Solving the problem

Many young mothers sound the alarm: “What should I do? The baby can’t get enough to eat!” First you need to understand whether this is really the case. If a problem exists, then the woman needs to take the following measures:

1. Feed your baby when he wants. The more he suckles, the more milk will be released. This is especially true for night feedings; you cannot refuse them.
2. You cannot take a breast from a baby. When he is full, he releases the nipple on his own (or begins to suck very sluggishly and falls asleep).
3. Watch how the baby holds the chest. His mouth should be wide open. It should capture both the nipple itself and the areola.
4. During feeding, both mother and baby should be comfortable. The desired position should be selected individually.
5. During one procedure, the baby should be applied to only one breast and wait for it to empty it completely.
6. If the baby is weakened, then he needs to be fed every three hours (this is how he gets enough to eat normally).
7. It is important to give up pacifiers and bottles. Sucking on a pacifier for a long time can disrupt the development of a baby's bite, and formula from a bottle is much easier to eat, so soon the baby will refuse the breast altogether.
8. Get more rest. The more tired a woman is, the higher the risk of decreased breast milk supply. At the same time, you should not refuse the help of family and friends.
9. Mom needs to eat immediately after feeding (at least five times a day). You should drink a sufficient amount of warm liquid (to enhance lactation, it is good to drink warm tea, fruit juice, dried fruit compote). It's important to eat right. It is necessary to exclude from the diet all those foods that can cause allergies in the baby and disrupt his digestion process.
10. If a nursing woman does not have enough milk or it has disappeared for some reason, then she needs to switch to either mixed feeding (breast milk + formula) or artificial feeding (only formula). Remember: with mixed feeding, formula is always given only after breastfeeding; otherwise, the baby may refuse to suckle, and lactation will decrease!
11. If a bottle-fed mother gets the impression that the baby is not getting enough of the formula, then it just needs to be replaced (taking into account the manufacturer and calorie content of the product). It’s good if your pediatrician initially selects an alternative diet.

It should be remembered that if the situation does not change: the child weakens, becomes capricious, sleeps poorly, etc., you need to urgently contact a pediatrician.

What not to do

Due to inexperience or increased fear for the child, a woman tries to do everything that others advise her to do. But there are things you don't need to do:

1. You should not weigh your baby every time before and after feeding. Results may vary significantly and the risk of bias is high. It is better to do this (if you have scales at home) once a week.
2. If the baby is breastfed, he does not need to be persistently offered water and juices (milk contains enough liquid to satisfy the needs of a small body), and complementary foods should be introduced no earlier than six months.
3. You should not give your baby milk from a goat or cow. Its protein is poorly absorbed by a small organism, so intestinal functionality may be impaired. If there is no other alternative to breastfeeding, the product should be diluted according to age.
4. A woman should not eat for two. Breast milk is not formed from foods, so if you consume them in large quantities, you can increase not the amount of milk, but your body weight, which is then quite difficult to fight.

If young parents are worried about something, then do not hesitate to contact your chosen pediatrician before a scheduled examination.

Consequences of malnutrition

The child’s body is actively growing, so stable and high-quality nutrition is vital for him. If the baby is constantly malnourished, the following consequences are possible:

1. Development of a severe form of dystrophy due to lack of protein. At the same time, the baby rapidly loses muscle mass.
2. Development of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
3. Progressive depletion of the body, leading to death.
4. Malfunction of the hormonal system.
5. Increased bone fragility.
6. Abnormal formation of immunity, etc.

Malnutrition in infants is a serious problem and often requires medical intervention. But parents should not immediately panic, try to push a double portion of milk into the baby, or choose additional or alternative nutrition on their own. It is better to consult a specialist and determine the cause of the problem, if it exists.

Remember, in matters involving infants, it is better to play it safe than to bitterly regret your inaction, because some dangerous conditions in babies under one year of age progress quite quickly!

Are you one of the many women who have decided to breastfeed? This is a very good choice. Pediatricians have proven that no formula, no matter what it is, can fully replace breastfeeding.

A little time will pass, and you and your baby will begin to understand each other perfectly, but for now you, of course, are interested in how to understand that the baby has had enough of breast milk? The question, at first glance, is complex. But if you look into it, it will be quite simple to determine.

There are several simple rules on how to understand whether a baby is getting enough breast milk or not:

1. The baby falls off the chest like a “full leech.”
2. After breastfeeding, the child must stop breastfeeding. As a rule, children are very calm and smile or fall asleep.
3. Mom's breasts should be “empty”.
4. The baby should eat not only fore milk, but also hind milk. It is more difficult to obtain, but it is fattier and more nutritious.
5. The baby does not ask for the breast and calmly withstands 3 hours after feeding.
6. This is a very important point in how to determine whether a baby is getting enough breast milk or not. Ideally, you need to feed your baby every 3.5 hours. However, this rule does not apply to the newborn period, when babies often “hang” on the chest simply because they do not want to be separated from their mother. In this case, the baby will not want to be calm at all, but not because he is hungry, but because he is uncomfortable without his mother, because they are still one.

The above factors will help you understand whether your baby is getting enough breast milk. If they are seasoned, then we can safely say that the child is full.

Separately, I would like to highlight babies up to two months old, who may still have gastrointestinal colic. They can demand mother's breast without any time limits. Being in mommy's arms and eating breast milk at the same time not only calms them down, but also helps their tummy not to hurt.

How to understand that an infant is not eating enough is also not a difficult question. A hungry baby will ask to eat very often - every 30 minutes. There may be several explanations for this: he is too lazy to suck your breasts well or your milk is not fat enough. The first reason is quite difficult to deal with. You need to force your child to eat. If your baby has fallen asleep or simply doesn’t want to work hard getting food, wake him up and stir him up so that he eats well. This is very important, because this will determine how he will gain weight and develop in the future. The second reason is typical for mothers who do not eat very high in calories or are simply on a diet.

If you are unable to breastfeed your baby, resort to pumping and bottle feeding. Perhaps the fact that there will be a large hole in the nipple and you will not need to put in as much effort as with breastfeeding, you will be able to feed the baby. In any case, it is better than giving your baby baby food.

So, you can understand whether an infant is full, both by his behavior and by whether he maintains the norm of weight gain characteristic of his age. And if the baby does not eat enough, then you need to make every effort to ensure that breastfeeding continues for at least six months.