Hidden Factors of Newborn Weight Gain
Uncover five common factors that contribute to newborn weight gain in those early days.
Dear Mama, weight gain for your newborn can be a stress that can lower milk production and make those early few days feel like your up against the scale.
Queit time of bonding can quickly turn into daily weight checks and trips to the pediatrician. Here’s five common hidden factors that contribute to newborn weight gain to discus with your care team.
Genetics
Genetics can play a role in your newborns natural weight gain pattern. Consider both parents overall size before looking at the scale blindly. In the study, published September 11 in Cell Genomics, Johnson, Demerath, and colleagues analyzed both genotype and gene expression differences in milk for hundreds of healthy mother-baby pairs. They looked at what genes are active in cells found in the milk and how that relates to maternal traits, the composition of the milk, and the baby’s gut bacteria. “It reveals that hundreds of components of human milk are driven by genetic differences in women,” says Demerath, Distinguished McKnight University professor in the School of Public Health.
Colostrum Vs. Mature Milk
Colostrum is lower in caloric value than mature milk. Colostrum is the early golden-like texture during the first few days post-birth. Mature milk, on the other hand, is higher in caloric value. Mature milk can take anywhere from 4-7 days to come in post-birth. Frequent feeds can help speed up the rate at which your mature milk comes in. Carbohydrates and fats are higher in mature milk vs colostrum.
Oral Structure
Your babies oral structures can effect how well your baby is able to transfer milk from your breast to their stomach. Oral structure abnormalities such as cleft lip, cleft pallet, tongue ties , muscle tone, and more. Having your pediatrician or lactation consultant to have your baby assessed can be key to ensuring your baby is able to ingest milk and feed adequately for weight gain.
Feeding Session Quality
Feed duration, frequency, and latch quality can be key factors to ensure effective milk transfer between breast and baby. For newborns, feed duration on one side should be anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Frequency should be anywhere from 2-3 hours. Latch, well that’s an entire matrix. Rule of thumb is it should not hurt, and you should be able to hear or see your baby making audible swallow sounds. Your babies mouth should be open 180 degrees or more with a majority of your areola in their mouth. Another good sign is that your babies chin is touching your breast.
5. IV fluids given during birth
It is a common hospital protocol for all laboring women to be administered fluids through an IV for the duration of labor. Now labor can last a long time, these fluids can impact your baby and factor into their birth weight when born. It can take a few days for babies to slowly release the fluids administered during labor, effecting the babies weight loss in those early. “According to this STUDY, these excess IV fluids inflate babies’ birth weight in utero and act as a diuretic after birth. Babies whose mothers received more IV fluids before birth urinated more during their first 24 hours and as a result lost more weight. Number of wet diapers during the first 24 hours predicted infant weight loss. This was true whether the babies were born vaginally or by c-section” Nancy Mohrbacher.
Sources:
https://nancymohrbacher.com/blogs/news/newborn-weight-loss-and-iv-fluids-in-labor#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20STUDY%2C%20these,assessment%20and%20possible%20breastfeeding%20assistance.%E2%80%9D
https://www.sph.umn.edu/news/the-role-genes-play-in-mothers-milk-and-babys-health/#:~:text=They%20looked%20at%20what%20genes,a%20great%20deal%20between%20women.
