How a baby develops from an infant to a fully grown kid is a miracle. Normally, infants’ growth rate is high and keeps increasing for the first few weeks. An increase in weight and height of a newborn is the most specific parameter of their health status.
Moms are always concerned about their babies losing weight or becoming lighter daily. Sometimes, it is nothing but a misunderstanding. At other times, a significant and sudden loss in a newborn’s weight may point to some pathology like dehydration, jaundice, or hypoglycemia. These conditions can exacerbate and lead to permanent brain damage if they remain unchecked.
When a baby cries, the major thoughts that cross our minds are that they are hungry or need a diaper change. So, it is almost impossible to guess if they are irritated by some disease. For such reasons, it is necessary to have a regular eye on your newborn’s weight.
What Is Newborn Weight Calculator?
It is important to record your newborn’s weight loss in terms of digits or percentages. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a newborn should not lose more than 7% of its birth weight. You can only compare your infant’s weight with the normal values when you know the exact digits. It is where you can make use of a newborn weight calculator.
Using a Weighing Machine:
The simplest way to know if your baby is losing weight is to use the newborn weighing machine. You should put your baby in there on a daily basis and access the weight changes. Make a daily readings chart, and you can do the rest of the math yourself to know if your baby is gaining or losing weight.
Newt-Newborn Weight Tool:
Newt is the first tool to help pediatrics and parents to keep a keen eye on a newborn’s weight during the first few days or weeks after childbirth. It provides a comparison of your newborn’s weight with a sample of infants to help in the early identification of weight disturbances in the subject.
You can access your baby’s weight at home using this tool, or consult a pediatrician if you cannot do it yourself.
Why To Use It?
A track of your baby’s weight loss and weight gain is very important to know their health status. During the first few days of birth, remarkable weight loss points to some pet diagnoses. Your baby may be suffering from hyperbilirubinemia and hypernatremia. Weight calculation helps you understand the nutritional demands of the infant and gives you an idea of optimizing your breastfeeding techniques.
If your baby is losing weight, measure it and convert it into percentile for a better understanding of the underlying cause. You can do so by the given method:
- (Your infant’s current weight – their weight at birth)/ their weight at birth
- Now multiply your result with 100 to convert it into a percentage.
It would become easier for you to have an idea of your baby’s suffering if you knew the exact percentage of its weight loss. Also, comparing your baby’s weight with the sample group will help you upgrade your parenting methods and understand your baby’s food requirements.
The percentage of weight loss can also help you access the level of your baby’s dehydration:
- Weight loss of less than 5% means slight dehydration.
- Weight loss equal to 5% means moderate dehydration.
- Weight loss more than or equal to 10% means severe dehydration.
What’s Ideal Weight For Infants?
It is not the normal weight that is important but the average weight that holds significance in determining the health status of a newborn. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recommend using WHO’s weight chart as a standard.
The ideal birth weight of a newborn male is 7 pounds 6 ounces, or 3.3 kg. The ideal weight for a newborn female is 7 pounds 2 ounces, or 3.2 kg. The average range of an infant born at 37-40 weeks of gestation is from 5 lb 8 oz to 9 lb 13 oz or 2.5 kg to 4 kg.
According to the WHO weight chart, males weigh slightly more than females at birth. This chart will walk you through the knowledge of the percentile your baby’s weight falls into. A baby is declared Low Birth Weight when the average weight is below 5 lb 8 oz or 2.5 kg.
How to Help Your Baby Gain Weight?
You can adopt a list of healthy practices to increase your newborn’s weight and keep them healthy and flourishing.
- Do not shift to solids food too early, especially if your baby is younger than six months. Breastmilk is the best source of calories and nutrients for this age group, and solid foods decrease the absorption of nutrients from breastmilk.
- Learn different baby massages because they are proven beneficial to gain.
- Increase skin-to-skin contact with your newborn. It boosts the immunity of your baby and keeps diseases away.
- Increase the breastmilk supply for your baby by using breast pumps or messages. It ensures that your baby is getting sufficient milk during feeding, and ensure that you feed your baby at an interval of 2 hours maximum.
- Do not give formula milk as a replacement for breast milk. Formulas have too fewer calories as compared to breast milk. Shifting instantly from breast milk to formula can result in a baby’s weight loss.
- Take note of your baby’s wet diaper. You should change your baby’s diaper 4 to 5 times a day to keep them away from infections and diseases.
Conclusion:
A newborn’s birth weight is an important variable in accessing their health status. Low birth weight or a decrease of more than 10% in average weight after birth may point to some diseases like jaundice, hypoglycemia, or dehydration.
Parents most often fail to know about the causes of decreasing weight. It is important to have a regular check of your baby’s weight by using a newborn weight calculator. WHO weight chart is also a good tool to remain updated with your child’s health conditions.
Some natural healthy measures and typical breastfeeding can prevent your baby’s weight loss and promote their growth.
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