Treatment of delayed weight gain in children

Slow weight gain is always your concern. How can children gain healthy weight?

The goal of treatment is to provide adequate nutrition to help children keep up with a standard weight at their age. Each specific age will correspond to a certain weight. To keep up with this growth, you may need to change your child's diet, timing or nutritional conditions. You and your pediatrician or registered dietitian should come up with a plan together that can accommodate the needs of both your baby and family.

The type of treatment your baby needs will depend on the underlying cause of the delayed weight gain, potential health problems and the severity of the condition.

Most children with mild to moderate malnutrition can be cared for at home with the help of a doctor. In some cases, your baby may also need the help of specialists in other areas, such as a dietitian, physical therapist or speech therapist, nurse, specialist. child developmentist, psychologist.

Children with severe malnutrition need to be hospitalized from the start. During the time in the hospital, the baby's diet and weight will be closely monitored by specialists.

Nutrition therapy

Nutrition therapy is the main treatment for babies with slow weight gain. The goal of nutritional therapy is to help children "catch up" with the need to gain weight, usually 2-3 times the normal increase in children of the same age. The best method to help increase caloric intake for your baby will depend on his age and nutritional status. Your doctor or dietitian will give you the advice you need. In some cases, experts will suggest giving your baby a multivitamin for nutritional supplements.

For babies

You can increase the calories in breast milk by pumping out less breast milk and adding a quantity of formula. This combination will help add nutrients to the baby. For the safety of newborn babies, this treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian. You can also increase the calories in powdered milk by adding less water to the flour or making the solution more concentrated, or by adding calorie supplements such as maltodextrin or corn (corn) oil. As noted above, to ensure the safety of the newborn, this treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian.

Infants 0 to 4 months of age need to be fed regularly, usually 8-12 times a day; Older children usually need 4-6 feedings per day. For older children, calories can be increased by adding rice cereals or milk powder to baby pureed foods.

For older children

In older children, baby's calorie intake can be increased by adding cheese, butter, sour cream or vegetables to baby's meals, or by offering calorie-rich dairy drinks instead. for whole milk.

During the time your baby needs to keep up with the required growth rate, the amount of calories and protein they eat is more important than the variety of foods. For example, if a kid can eat chicken nuggets and pizza but rejects all vegetables then this is still acceptable. During meals and snacks, your baby should eat solid foods before liquids. Children should only drink 120 - 240 ml of pure, unsweetened fruit juice every day.

Older children should eat regularly (every 2-3 hours but not continuously). Your baby needs three main meals and three snacks arranged appropriately. You should time snacks so that your baby's appetite for meals will not be affected (for example, snack time should not be within an hour after eating, not eating food. light food immediately after your baby has finished a meal). Healthy snacks include crackers, peanut butter, cheese, boiled eggs, pudding, yogurt, fresh fruit or vegetables or crackers. In some cases, your doctor may suggest that you give your baby a multivitamin and mineral supplement.

Feeding environment

Changes in where to eat can create excitement and help your baby eat more. All family members should be aware of the importance of these changes.

Your baby should be positioned to eat so that his head is raised and he feels comfortable. Babies should be allowed to feed themselves (eg holding a bottle of milk or eating finger foods), but they may also need to be fed with a meal. When your child learns to feed himself, everything looks messy. Let your baby finish eating and then start cleaning.

Distractions during meal times, such as restricting access to TV, cell phone, and loud music.

Keep meals times on a consistent schedule, no matter who feeds the baby.

Your baby's meals need to be comfortable; Babies can eat with other family members and have fun conversations. Eating with others gives your baby a chance to observe how others make food choices and this will in part encourage your baby's healthy eating habits.

Don't get discouraged if your child refuses to eat a new food. Many babies may need more than 10 tries to gradually begin accepting new foods. Among babies with rigid eating habits (eg children with autism), they may need more than 30 attempts to persuade and try before accepting the presence of new foods in daily meals.

Do not argue about eating and drinking; you should encourage, not force, your child to eat; You should not fast-feed your baby as punishment and vice versa, you should not use food as a reward for doing something right.

You should praise your baby when he or she eats well, but should not be punished when the baby does not eat well.

Medical treatment

Certain illnesses can slow your baby's weight gain. In this case, the baby needs to be examined and treated promptly by a doctor. Your doctor can also diagnose if your baby has food allergies or gastroesophageal reflux so he can guide you in building a healthy diet and diet. Do not voluntarily eliminate food groups (e.g., dairy products) without consulting a doctor or dietitian as this may increase the risk of malnourished children. Malnourished children are at risk for common infections. Therefore, you need to instruct children and family members to wash their hands and avoid contact with sick people. Children should be vaccinated on schedule and with the full dose.

Behavioral therapy and development

Behavioral and developmental problems can increase a child's risk of being underweight. For example, if your baby has trouble chewing or swallowing food, he or she may not be able to consume the necessary calories.

Psychosocial issues

In some cases, slow weight gain has been linked to family problems, such as not having enough food at home, parents overly worrying about feeding their children certain foods (e.g. for example, fatty foods) or a parent with physical and psychological illness (such as alcohol / drug addiction). These things can partly indirectly cause slow weight gain in children.

Contact your doctor or a dietitian if you notice your baby is slowly gaining weight. Your doctor and dietitian will recommend the right treatment and help you build a healthy and appropriate diet for your child.